Comercializadora Farmacéutica de Chiapas, S.A. de C.V. agreed to acquire 96.56% of Farmacias Benavides, a deal that would unite two large Mexican pharmacy networks if regulators authorize it.
The buyer operates Farmacias del Ahorro. Certain subsidiaries of The Boots Group hold the shares covered by the agreement, according to a Nov. 13 filing by Benavides to the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, Mexico’s stock exchange. The document records Nov. 12 as the agreement date and says the buyer will acquire all shares held by those subsidiaries.
The agreement has not closed, and completion depends on conditions that include authorization from Mexico’s Comisión Nacional Antimonopolio (CNA), the filing says. Neither the filing nor Benavides’ Nov. 13 announcement discloses the purchase price or an expected closing date.
Benavides said day-to-day operations would remain under its current management while the sale is pending. The deal does not alter a separate administrative process over the cancellation of the company’s share registration in the Registro Nacional de Valores, the filing says.
The company projects that the combined network would exceed 3,000 stores after closing. It puts Farmacias del Ahorro at about 2,000 stores and Benavides above 1,100, with more than 450 primary-care clinics also in the Benavides network.
The companies frame the acquisition as a way to expand pharmacy and health services. Rafael Selvas Silva, Farmacias del Ahorro’s chief executive, said the company’s growth would mean “greater healthcare access, better services, and deeper savings” for Mexican families.
Benavides’ announcement describes the chain as a business with more than 100 years of history and says Farmacias del Ahorro was founded in 1991. Benavides characterized the transaction as a return to Mexican ownership. Authorization from the CNA is the next stated step, but the filing sets no schedule for a decision.
