A private equity firm which supposedly invested $18 million in Healthplus, the pharmacy chain in Nigeria, claimed the management of Healthplus is not executing as desired. Healthplus Management disputes that assertion, maintaining it was an excuse to do something horrible to the firm. As that happens, litigation is flaring up. The PE, Alta Semper Capital, has “changed” the CEO of the company, and claiming to be the majority shareholder, plans to take control of the company operations.
It is a total mess, and I mean a big mess, after a supposedly $18 million investment. This does not look good at all. Someone needs to call Bukky George and the Private Equity (PE) firm that they need not do this on the media before partners panic, pull supplies and destroy this company.
From the PE, Alta Semper Capital LLP:
The Board has been exploring the optimal way to grow the business for some time, in collaboration with Mrs. George. Unfortunately, we have been unable to reach an agreement, which has hindered the operations of the Company and delayed the implementation of its growth plans. With the onset of the COVID pandemic, the rapid acceleration of the digital economy and the increased relevance of the healthcare sector as a whole, it has become urgent to ensure the Company is optimally positioned to grow and able to take advantage of new and emerging opportunities. As a result, we have taken the strategic decision to change our leadership.
The Healthplus responds:
Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 16 (Feb 10 – May 3, 2025) opens registrations; register today for early bird discounts.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations here.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and invest in Africa’s finest startups here.
“We wish to inform the general public, the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, our staff, loyal customers, vendors, landlords, bankers and all stakeholders that the press release was not authorised by the Company or anybody acting on its behalf. And that the announcement of the appointment of a CTO is wholly false, wrongful and illegal and should be totally ignored.
It is the handiwork of unscrupulous foreign and local businesswomen and businessmen intent on reaping where they have not sown simply because they now see opportunities from the COVID-19 pandemic, like scavengers and vultures,” HealthPlus Management
This update claims the PE is the majority shareholder. If that is so, it changes everything. Yet, they need to explore how arbitration can help resolve their differences as they are destroying value doing this on air.
Alta Semper Capital, which controls the majority shareholding in HealthPlus, the Nigerian headquartered leading West African pharmaceutical chain, is planning to inject fresh funds into the business, it has been confirmed.
Information about this plan is coming amid the announcement of the appointment by secondment of Chidi Okoro as HealthPlus’s Chief Transformation Officer with a mandate to “optimize day-to-day management and elevate the business to novel scale and profitability,” the company said in a statement it issued through its media consultants.
---
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA (Feb 10 - May 3, 2025), and join Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe and our global faculty; click here.
Uunnnnnnnnnn, I reserve my comment.
House of commotion. You hear this sort of thing when all key revenues and growth metrics are facing south, so a battle for the company’s soul becomes the only exciting exercise to engage in. It’s like a political party that suffered a hiding in critical elections, expect a meltdown afterwards.
It’s either someone over promised and under delivered, or someone over expected. What kills is not the despair, but rather the hope…
If they continue like this, soon there may not be anything left to fight for, only mounting debt
When you take money from a private equity firm, you have to behave yourself. This is obviously the aftermath of a breakdown in boardroom deliberations. If the books show less than desirable financial performance, then the CEO should fall on the sword and give way for change.
The longer this market dance continues, the more it erodes their value.
When retailers start saying “currently not available” anytime you attempt to make purchases, know that there just maybe bad news brewing. This used to be one of the reliable service providers in this space. Hopefully, settlement would not be long drawn-out to enable the brand salvage what it can.
When retailers start saying “currently not available” anytime you attempt to make purchases, know that there just maybe bad news brewing. This used to be one of the reliable service providers in this space. Hopefully, settlement would not be long drawn-out to enable the brand salvage what it can
“When retailers start saying “currently not available” anytime you attempt to make purchases, know that there just maybe bad news brewing” – That should be scary; hope it does not stay in that state for long