Bulgarian Sopharma buys Belarus firm; aims to expand across Eastern Europe

Bulgaria’s largest drugmaker Sopharma has acquired Belarusian pharmacy chain Tabina through its Latvian unit Briz, it said in a statement to the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE), reported by the Sofia Echo.

Sopharma has bought 99% of Tabina's capital, which has 14 pharmacies operating under the Doctor Do brand. Tabina, which has a staff of 75, posted turnover of 3.78 million euros ($5.5 million) for 2010.

In January 2011, Sopharma also via Briz took over another Belorussian pharmacy chain, Interfarm, which runs 19 pharmacies. Briz now operates a network of 33 pharmacies in the Eastern European country, which have an annual turnover of 7.5 million euro, according to the statement. "This allows Briz to become the third largest privately-owned pharmacy in Belarus," Sopharma said.