South African retail giant taking on Clicks and Dis-Chem

The commission recommended that the Competition Tribunal approve the proposed transaction, where Spar Health-owned M&B plans to acquire Aptekor Sneldiens and Aptekor Wholesale, without conditions.

Aptekor is a pharmaceutical and health products wholesaler that sells to retailers and resellers through a wholesale account.

The primary acquiring firm is M&B, a wholly owned Spar Health Proprietary Limited subsidiary. Spar Health is a wholly owned subsidiary of Spar Group Limited, which is listed on the JSE Limited. 

The Spar Group primarily conducts general wholesaling across South Africa to franchisors across South Africa, while M&B operates as a full-line pharmaceutical wholesaler in Carletonville, Gauteng.

M&B currently services pharmacies, hospitals, healthcare professionals, the government, and various non-governmental organisations.

Aptekor Wholesale and Aptekor Sneldiens are pharmaceutical wholesalers for business-to-business, that service pharmacies, health shops, farm stalls, general retailers and more. 

It primarily operates in the Western Cape and Northern Cape, with Aptekor Sneldiens operating primarily as the internal courier service for Aptekor Wholesale.

The commission believed that the proposed transaction is unlikely to impact or lessen competition in any market. 

The proposed transaction also did not raise significant public interest concerns. The Competition Tribunal will need to give a final green light to push the deal through. 

The move will see Spar increase its size in the pharmaceutical industry, which is dominated by retailers such as Dis-Chem and Clicks, which also operate wholesale businesses. 

On top of the announcement from the commission, the Spar Group also sent a business update on SENS for the 51-week period ending 19 September 2025.  

In the update, the group noted that Spar Health has demonstrated robust turnover performance in Scriptwise sales, supported by strong sales within the Pharmacy at Spar network.

Spar Health’s wholesale business has seen growth of 12.8% since the start of the 2025 calendar year, while the retail business has seen 9.4% growth over that time.

Spar is going through big changes 

The Spar Group is undergoing a series of massive changes, which include an enormous change in its international businesses as it looks to focus on South Africa. 

In 2024, the group announced a strategic review of its European assets, as part of a broader effort to future-proof the business, streamline operations and optimise returns. 

In the group’s results for the six months ending 28 March 2025, the total loss attributable to shareholders stood at R4 billion. 

This was due to its Swiss and British businesses recording aggregated post-tax losses of R4.4 billion over the period, which included impairments of R4.2 billion for both. 

Spar has since entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Tannenwald Holding, where it will acquire the entire shareholding in Spar Switzerland for a total equity value of CHF46.5 million (R1 billion).

The South African company will also be entitled to further earn-out payments of up to CHF 30 million (approximately R660 million) due at the end of 2027 based on the actual EBITDA achieved in FY26 and FY27. 

Tannenwald has also taken over all debt outstanding by Spar Switzerland to third-party financiers.

That said, the sale resulted in the group’s cash outflow of CHF 31 million (R680 million).

Prior to the sale of the Swiss business, the group had already sold its business in Poland for R185 million to retailer Specjal, but needed to pay R2.7 billion to recapitalise it. 

“The Group has delivered on its commitment to streamline operations and refocus on its key markets, Southern Africa and Ireland,” said the group in its operational update. 

“With the divestments from Poland and Switzerland completed, our debt restructured, and the sales process of the UK business well advanced, our leadership is now very focused on Southern Africa operational and margin improvements.” 

The disposal of Spar Switzerland has resulted in a massive balance sheet reset, with the group’s net debt reducing by about 30%. 

Overall, the latest business update from the group also showed that group sales increased by 2.8% in the second half of the year, compared to the first half’s drop in sales. 

The group’s audited financial results for the financial year ended 26 September 2025 will be released on 8 December 2025.