PHARMAGEST INTERACTIVE : enters Italy with the acquisition of market leader

Pharmagest Group enters Italy
with the acquisition of market leader

Pharmagest Group, pursuing its European expansion, enters Italy.

· Acquisition of a 60% majority stake in MACROSOFT Holding's capital.

· The Italian leader in IT equipment and services for pharmacy wholesalers-distributors.

Macrosoft recently rolled out an innovative software solution for Italian pharmacies.
Creation of Pharmagest Italia, the new subsidiary of the Pharmacy Europe Division.
Objective: equip 20% of the Italian pharmacy market within five years.
An acquisition in line with the Group's strategy for building a dedicated global ecosystem at the European level.

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MACROSOFT: Italy's leading supplier of IT solutions for pharmacy wholesalers-distributors

Created in 1985, Macrosoft has operations in three sites: Macerata (near Ancôna - Eastern Italy), Bologna (Northern Italy) and Anagni (near Rome). Macrosoft is the Italian leader in IT equipment and services for pharmacy wholesalers-distributors. The company is notably the developer of a specific protocol for communications between pharmacies and wholesalers-distributors which is now the market standard for software companies operating in Italy. In a country counting around 50 wholesalers-distributors, Macrosoft's market share currently exceeds 50%.

Macrosoft has 40 employees in Italy and in 2017 it had sales of €5.2 million for Earnings before Tax (EBT) of €1 million, and €10 million in cash.

SOPHIA: a high-performance and innovative pharmacy software solution

To achieve full integration and be offer comprehensive service, Macrosoft recently decided to make available its offering to pharmacies via an innovative pharmacy management application: Sophia. By offering direct integration with the pharmacist' application, Macrosoft was able to create a completely unique offering in Italy specifically adapted to the Italian market.

PHARMAGEST ITALIA: building market share with Italian pharmacies

To develop this offering across Italy, Macrosoft has decided draw on the resources of the Pharmagest Group. The new entity, a subsidiary of the Pharmacy Division - Europe Solutions, will be named Pharmagest Italia.

Denis SUPPLISSON, Deputy CEO of Pharmagest Group in charge of the Pharmacy Division - Europe Solutions, will oversee Pharmagest Italia. Mario MARIANI, Macrosoft's current Chair-CEO will continue to oversee the executive management.

The composition of Pharmagest Italia' Board of Directors is as follows:

Chair-CEO: Mario MARIANI

Director: Thierry CHAPUSOT

Director: Dominique PAUTRAT

Director: Denis SUPPLISSON

Director: Roberto MARIANI

Pharmagest Group will contribute its expertise and experience in marketing IT solutions for pharmacies and support Pharmagest Italia in creating a network of agencies capable of adapting to the scalability of its economic model.

A shared vision for a patient-centered healthcare system

Pharmagest Group and Macrosoft share a common vision for providing patient-centered solutions. This vision reflects a growing need by Italian pharmacies as they move towards a patient-centred approach by expanding their expertise to cover a broader range of peripheral services in order to better address patient needs.

A market with strong growth potential

With a number of inhabitants per pharmacy above the European average - one pharmacy for every 3,383 inhabitants - in 2018 Italy counted 19,000 pharmacies. Italian pharmacies are largely equipped by three companies and are characterized by an aging installed base insufficiently adapted to the major transformations of the Italian healthcare sector.

Pharmagest Italia's plan for deployment covers both the number of its products as well as its range, with the goal of equipping nearly 20% of Italian pharmacies within five years.

Denis SUPPLISSON, Director of the Pharmacy Division - Europe Solutions of Pharmagest Group and Dominique PAUTRAT, Chief Executive Officer of Pharmagest Group explain that "This acquisition represents a genuine growth opportunity for Pharmagest Group in an environment where the development of pharmacy chains will be accompanied by the opening up of their capital. Our approach in Italy is rather original and anticipated in the market for IT solutions for pharmacy digitization and management. With the patient-centered product range, the prospects are very promising. The synergies between Macrosoft's historic business as a market leader for innovative IT solutions for wholesalers-distributors and its new IT specialty business for pharmacies will facilitate Pharmagest Italia's strong development."

Mario MARIANI, Chair-CEO of Pharmagest Italia and Roberto MARIANI, Director of Technology Development added: "By leveraging its reputation as an expert and innovative partner based on the strength of its ideas, people and the technology it develops, Macrosoft is developing a unique solution for all its customers. In recent years, the challenges facing our healthcare system have undergone rapid and profound changes. With Pharmagest Group, our respective expertise will be combined to create added value and new opportunities for all Italian pharmacies based on our common patient-centered vision and a completely innovative approach"

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Financial calendar:

Publication of 2017 annual results and presentation to analysts and investors in Paris, Tuesday, 3 April 2018.

About PHARMAGEST Group:

PHARMAGEST Group is the French pharmacy information technology leader, with a market share of more than 41% and more than 900 employees. The Group's strategy is based on a core business of improving healthcare through information technology innovation and developing two priority areas: 1/ Services and technologies for healthcare professionals, with a focus on assisting pharmacies in patient medication compliance; and 2/ technologies for improving the efficacy of healthcare systems.

To roll out this strategy, PHARMAGEST Group has developed specialised businesses, including pharmacy IT, e-Health solutions, solutions for healthcare professionals, solutions for pharmaceutical laboratories, connected health devices and apps, and a sales financing marketplace.

These businesses are divided into four Divisions: Solutions for Pharmacy Division - Europe; Solutions for Health and Social Care Facilities; Solutions for e-Health; and Fintech.

Listed on Euronext Paris(TM) - Compartment B

Indices: CAC^® SMALL and CAC^® All-Tradable par inclusion

Eligible for the Long-Only Deferred Settlement Service (SRD)

ISIN: FR 0012882389 - Reuters: PHA.PA - Bloomberg: - PMGI FP

For all the latest news go to www.pharmagest.com

CONTACTS

Analyst and Investor Relations:

Chief Administrative and Financial Officer: Jean-Yves SAMSON

Tel. +33 (0)3 83 15 90 67 - jean-yves.samson@pharmagest.com

Media Relations:

FIN'EXTENSO - Isabelle APRILE

Tel. +33 (0)1 39 97 61 22 - i.aprile@finextenso.fr