Perrigo invests in €30m German meal replacement player

Perrigo chief: "...Perrigo is uniquely positioned to maximize the potential of these brands to capture an even greater share of the $30bn (€27.5bn) European OTC market opportunity.”

Related tags Germany

Irish pharma giant Perrigo has paid an undisclosed sum for Germany’s second biggest food supplement player, Yokebe, which specialises in meal replacements.

Perrigo chairman, president and CEO Joseph C Papa said the buy-out was part of its ‘Base Plus Plus Plus’ expansion strategy and would add to the Omega Pharma omega-3 focused brand it paid €3.8bn for in March.

“Coupled with our recent acquisition of well-established European brands from GlaxoSmithKline, we continue to leverage our robust balance sheet and strong global platform to execute immediately accretive deals, such as this one, that will have a multiplier effect on our growth,” Papa said.

“With Omega’s pan-European distribution network, strong brand-building capabilities and exceptional management team, Perrigo is uniquely positioned to maximize the potential of these brands to capture an even greater share of the $30bn (€27.5bn) European OTC market opportunity.”

The deal is pending German and Irish regulatory approval for the Naturwohl Pharma GmbH-owned firm.

At the time of the Omega Pharma buy, Papa said: "The combination of Perrigo and Omega creates an industry leading, global healthcare company with the operational structure and cash flow generation to accelerate our international growth even further.”

"This strategic combination creates a top 5 global OTC healthcare company by revenue, enhancing our leading OTC position through Omega's strong, established European commercial, regulatory and distribution platforms, which further enables us to capitalise on the many megatrends which bend in favour of consumer choice and cost control in healthcare.”