Henry Schein To Acquire Majority Interest In Vetstreet

MELVILLE, N.Y., Nov. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSIC), the world's largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, animal health and medical practitioners, today announced that it will acquire a majority interest in Vetstreet, Inc., a leading software as a service (SaaS) provider of marketing solutions and health information analytics to veterinary practices and animal health product manufacturers.  Vetstreet had sales in 2014 of approximately $43 million.

Upon the closing of the transaction, which is expected early in 2016, Henry Schein Animal Health, the U.S. animal health business of Henry Schein, Inc., will own 80.1 percent of Vetstreet, and the remaining minority interest will continue to be owned by VCA Inc. (NASDAQ: WOOF). Henry Schein expects the acquisition to be neutral to its 2016 diluted earnings per share and $0.01- $0.02 accretive thereafter.  Additional financial details and terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Yardley, PA., Vetstreet offers veterinary practices a fully integrated suite of online and offline products and services that improve veterinary practices' ability to communicate with pet owners for all of their pet needs and address the lack of compliance with wellness visits.

"Vetstreet will nicely complement our animal health businesses," said Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Henry Schein. "Vetstreet's offering will expand our practice marketing and client communication solutions, provide tools to further enhance our supplier relationships, better connect us with our veterinary customers, and help our veterinary customers better connect to their pet owner-clients."

"Vetstreet's services create a continuity of communication with pet owners that builds customer loyalty, improves care through better compliance and improves the health of veterinary practices," added Mr. Bergman. "With more than three million unique monthly visitors, Vetstreet's consumer-facing website, Vetstreet.com, includes a wide variety of features designed to connect pet owners with the veterinarian for all their pet needs, including pet-related education, training and wellness content. We look forward to multiple opportunities for business synergies, including with our AVImark and ImproMed animal health software products. We also very much look forward to welcoming the Vetstreet team to Team Schein."

The approximately 100 members of Vetstreet will continue to be led by its current management team, including the Company's founder and President Derrick Kraemer. 

"Henry Schein is the leader in serving the evolving needs of animal health professionals and in bringing innovation to the marketplace," said Mr. Kraemer.  "As part of the Henry Schein family, we look forward to Vetstreet having an opportunity to expand and enhance its offering to better serve the unique and changing needs of veterinary customers."

About Vetstreet, Inc.

Vetstreet, headquartered in Yardley, PA, offers integrated online and offline educational products, communication programs, and custom designed marketing solutions for veterinary professionals seeking to influence pet owner behavior in a medically appropriate and measurable way. Vetstreet's automated marketing and communications provide pet owners with highly personal, relevant, and timely communications that enhance the bond with their veterinarian and results in improved compliance and increased revenue for the practice.  

Vetstreet's primary product offering is complemented by three consumer centric products: HealthyPet Magazine, an educational and fun magazine targeted to pet owners, delivered as part of a premier healthcare reminder system that also features postcard reminders; Vetstreet's custom manufacturer marketing programs and professional services that can include incentives to pet owners and provides data analytics back to the practice with measurable results; and Vetstreet.com, one of the fastest growing online pet owner destinations dedicated to providing the most trusted, authoritative information available to keep pet owners informed about a wide variety of pet health-related news. Vetstreet.com is part of the largest media networks in the country, and offers marketers an ability to connect their brands to millions of pet owners within the most credible consumer-focused website in the animal health marketplace.

For more information, visit Vetstreet at www.vetstreetpro.com and www.vetstreet.com/

About Henry Schein, Inc.

Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) is the world's largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, animal health and medical practitioners. The Company also serves dental laboratories, government and institutional health care clinics, and other alternate care sites. A Fortune 500® Company and a member of the S&P 500® and the NASDAQ 100® indexes, Henry Schein employs more than 18,000 Team Schein Members and serves more than one million customers.

The Company offers a comprehensive selection of products and services, including value-added solutions for operating efficient practices and delivering high-quality care. Henry Schein operates through a centralized and automated distribution network, with a selection of more than 100,000 branded products and Henry Schein private-brand products in stock, as well as more than 150,000 additional products available as special-order items. The Company also offers its customers exclusive, innovative technology solutions, including practice management software and e-commerce solutions, as well as a broad range of financial services.

Headquartered in Melville, N.Y., Henry Schein has operations or affiliates in 33 countries. The Company's sales reached a record $10.4 billion in 2014, and have grown at a compound annual rate of approximately 16 percent since Henry Schein became a public company in 1995. For more information, visit Henry Schein at www.henryschein.com, Facebook.com/HenrySchein and @HenrySchein on Twitter.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

In accordance with the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, we provide the following cautionary remarks regarding important factors that, among others, could cause future results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, expectations and assumptions expressed or implied herein.  All forward-looking statements made by us are subject to risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance.  These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance and achievements or industry results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  These statements are identified by the use of such terms as "may," "could," "expect," "intend," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "anticipate" or other comparable terms.

Risk factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current and historical results include, but are not limited to: effects of a highly competitive market; our dependence on third parties for the manufacture and supply of our products; our dependence upon sales personnel, customers, suppliers and manufacturers; our dependence on our senior management; fluctuations in quarterly earnings; risks from expansion of customer purchasing power and multi-tiered costing structures; possible increases in the cost of shipping our products or other service issues with our third-party shippers; general global macro-economic conditions; disruptions in financial markets; possible volatility of the market price of our common stock; changes in the health care industry; implementation of health care laws; failure to comply with regulatory requirements and data privacy laws; risks associated with our global operations; transitional challenges associated with acquisitions and joint ventures, including the failure to achieve anticipated synergies; financial risks associated with acquisitions and joint ventures; litigation risks; the dependence on our continued product development, technical support and successful marketing in the technology segment; risks from challenges associated with the emergence of potential increased competition by third-party online commerce sites; risks from disruption to our information systems; cyberattacks or other privacy or data security breaches; certain provisions in our governing documents that may discourage third-party acquisitions of us; and changes in tax legislation. The order in which these factors appear should not be construed to indicate their relative importance or priority.

We caution that these factors may not be exhaustive and that many of these factors are beyond our ability to control or predict.  Accordingly, any forward-looking statements contained herein should not be relied upon as a prediction of actual results.  We undertake no duty and have no obligation to update forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Henry Schein, Inc.

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