Henry Schein Acquires Sirona Direct - Analyst Blog

Henry Schein, Inc. HSIC has acquired NY-based global dental equipment provider Sirona Dental Systems, Inc.'s SIRO dental distribution business in France – Sirona Direct. However, financial terms of the transactions have not been disclosed.  

Sirona Direct is the sole distributor of dental equipment for Sirona Dental Systems in Paris and Normandy, with sales of roughly $14 million. Henry Schein is a global distributor of healthcare products and services with global dental sales of around $5 billion in 2013.

In addition to acquiring Sirona Direct, Henry Schein has also entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with Sirona Dental Systems. Per the deal, Henry Schein will promote and distribute Sirona's full line of dental equipment, including the CEREC CAD/CAM system, to practitioners across France, including Paris and its surroundings.

Over the past several years, Henry Schein has acquired several other businesses in France with exclusive regional distribution agreements for Sirona Dental Systems' products.  These buyouts, along with the latest acquisition and distribution agreements, will now reaffirm Henry Schein's position as Sirona Dental Systems' exclusive distributor to practitioners across the country.

Management at Henry Schein acknowledges the contribution of Sirona's high-quality products to Henry Schein's ConnectDental platform, which has been designed to bring innovative digital dental solutions to practitioners in the rapidly evolving dental marketplace.

With its headquarters in Paris and a showroom in Rouen, Sirona Direct will become part of Henry Schein France, which has served dental practitioners in the country for more than two decades.

Henry Schein expects the transaction to be neutral to its earnings per share for the rest of 2014.

Both Henry Schein and Sirona Dental Systems currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks worth considering in the medical/dental supply industry include The Cooper Companies Inc. COO and Milestone Scientific Inc. (MLSS). Both these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).