Zur Rose plans to go public on SIX Swiss Exchange
Frauenfeld TG – The mail-order pharmacy Zur Rose AG plans to go public this year. It is aiming to raise at least CHF 200 million in capital.
The Zur Rose Group would like to boost its growth strategy and is therefore preparing an initial public offering (IPO) on the SIX Swiss Exchange provided the right conditions exist. According to a statement, it plans to raise at least CHF 200 million and will use the funds to further expand its position in the European pharmaceutical e-commerce market.
An extraordinary general meeting will be held on 19 June to decide on how to raise the capital and proceed with the IPO.
Zur Rose sees a number of growth opportunities. For instance, the aging populations in the Swiss and German markets via the Zur Rose and DocMorris brands respectively. In addition, digitalisation in the healthcare sector lags behind other consumer goods industries, thus creating growth opportunities.
In Germany, Zur Rose achieved sales growth of 17.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2017, as well as a fivefold increase in the number of new prescription medicine customers compared to the same period last year.
With the abolition of the ban on granting discounts for online pharmacies in 2016, Zur Rose hopes for continued favourable developments in Germany. In addition, the company plans to acquire a German mail-order pharmacy for non-prescription drugs.
In Switzerland, it expects to achieve additional growth through in-shop pharmacies thanks to its cooperation with Migros.