Pascal Fontaine, Hygie31 Commercial Director, Hervé Jouves, Hygie31 Founder & Chairman, John Carroll, Navi Group Founder & Chief Executive, Leigh Herron, Navi Group Managing Director & CFO
Navi in Fonthill secures major French investment
FONTHILL-based pharmacy services firm Navi Group is set to become majority-owned by a French group in a deal that will see their value skyrocket past €50 million.
Terms of the deal with Toulouse company Hygie31 are undisclosed but the French healthcare company will acquire a majority stake in the move.
Navi Group is the parent company of Axium, DispenSense, iGnite, CarePlusPharmacy and StayWell Pharmacy, and was founded by John Carroll, who owns the company outright.
Navi founder and Chief Executive John Carroll said: “I am delighted to announce that Navi Group has concluded a strategic partnership agreement with Hygie31.
“Hygie31 and Navi Group share a common strategic vision of preserving pharmacists’ ownership independence, and strong local roots, while also significantly strengthening their operational competitiveness, with the ambition of making healthcare accessible to everyone, everywhere.”
“This partnership with Hygie31 is about taking the capabilities Navi has built in Ireland and combining them with significant international expertise, investment and best practice to create even greater value for our pharmacy customers.
“Together with Hygie31, we will continue to grow Navi at home, and we also plan to expand our managed pharmacy services platform into new markets.”
Hygie reported a consolidated turnover of €5 billion after a €3.3bn figure in 2024, representing a 52 per cent increase in one financial year, and has a goal to reach €6bn by the next fiscal year.
The company is currently affiliated with more than 3,900 independent pharmacies and wants to grow Navi’s reach with this move.
Navi is connected to 600 community pharmacies, almost a third of the market and generates around €700m in trade, with 90 people employed by the group.
The deal comes nearly four years on from Citywest-based Uniphar’s attempt to take over Navi.
Uniphar had attempted to purchase the company based in Fonthill Retail Park back in 2021 and had a deal agreed, but the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission had blocked the move.
In a statement, the CCPC said: “The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has determined that the proposed acquisition of NaviCorp Limited
(trading as Navi Group) by Uniphar PLC may not be put into effect on the grounds that the result of the proposed acquisition will be to substantially lessen competition in markets for services in the State.”
