Dis-Chem in agreement to acquire 100% of Baby City from its founder

DURBAN – JSE-listed retail pharmacy group Dis-Chem Pharmacies is set to enter the baby retail market after it entered into an agreement to acquire 100percent of the issued share capital of Baby City for R430million. Dis-Chem will acquire Baby City from its founder shareholders, the Aronoff family.

The acquisition comes when Dis-Chem has received much criticism for refusing to pay full rent to mall owners, despite still trading as an essential service under the lockdown regulations.

Dis-Chem has also locked horns with the Competition Commission over claims that it raised the price of masks, which it denied.

The group said on Friday that Michel Aronoff, who conceptualised and strategised Baby City’s direction, would continue to serve as managing director of Baby City following the closure of the transaction.

Dis-Chem said the rationale behind the acquisition was that the characteristics of the baby-product sector align with those of the pharmacy sector. “Both sectors are extremely resilient, with perpetual new entrants. The baby sector sees approximately 900000 new babies annually,” the group said.