Middlefield Pharmacy
Lynne’s family had built a regional chain of 12 pharmacies over the previous two decades and so he knew just about all of the independent pharmacists in his half of the state. The family-owned chain was known as a consolidator, always interested in talking to independents who ran good operations but were ready to get out of the business.
Joe, an independent owner for 15 years, had suffered a mild heart attack the year before and his physician had told him that he needed to scale back on his work. He had tried to bring in a junior partner but the young pharmacist he thought was the right candidate didn’t work out.
At his wife’s urging, Joe called Lynne to see if there would be a way that he could sell the store to Lynne’s regional chain and still continue to work full-time but not have to deal with all the stress of owning the pharmacy, including dealing with PBMs, personnel issues, and so forth.
It turned out that Joe’s pharmacy was in a rural community that the regional chain was interested in expanding into before a national chain moved into the town. Because Lynne had a good deal of experience in purchasing pharmacies, he and Joe were able to structure a deal in five months in which Joe was bought out for a single lump sum. McKesson provided six-month dating, with payments due in the fourth, fifth, and sixth months. Joe continued as the pharmacist in charge and works full time but now when he goes home, he doesn’t feel the weight of the pharmacy hanging over him.
