Australian pharma firms' merger turns former intern into billionaire: Know how

The merger of an Australian pharmaceutical firm and a pharmacy franchiser has turned a former intern into a billionaire and minted 100 other millionaires.

A corporate merger in Australia, between pharmacy franchiser Chemist Warehouse and publicly-listed Sigma Healthcare, has turned a former intern into a billionaire. The deal between the two companies has also created one of Australia's largest pharmacy chains and wholesalers.

Two brothers and an intern have together turned into billionaires after their firm merged with Sigma Healthcare in Australia(Bloomberg)

The biggest winners in this deal are Chemist Warehouse's Founders - Jack Gance and his brother Sam - and Mario Verrocchi, who had joined the company as an intern in 1980 and progressed to become its chief executive.

According to Bloomberg, the Gance brothers and Verrocchi are each worth $2.5 billion after shares of the combined entity began trading on Thursday. The merger not only helped these three people but also turned 100 of Chemist Warehouse's shareholders into millionaires, with at least 10 of them having net worth of over $100 million.

“Fifty years of toil, 50 years of grind, a bit of blood, sweat and tears and we have established ourselves as the leaders of this industry,” Verrocchi said.

How it all began

The Gance brother are children of Polish parents who fled during World War II and settled in Australia. They both studied pharmacy and bought their first pharmacy in 1972. Shortly after, they began coordinating their supply chain with other chemist stores and turned that single store into a company which will now co-own over 900 pharmacies in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Dubai and China and supply medicines to over 3,500 stores.

Curious case of Verrocchi

Verrocchi, who also graduated in pharmacy, was hired as an intern by the Gance brothers in 1980. They did so because they had just opened a store in a neighbourhood full of Italian migrants and needed someone to know the language, Verrocchi said. He, along with the brothers, will collectively own 48% of the combined entity.

Sam Gance's son Damien, who will be on the merged entity's board, owns a stake which is roughly worth $700 million while Danielle Di Pilla, a seniro executive and a cousin of Verrocchi, is the owner of shees worth about $185 million. Danielle will also be a director.