Mediq is a Dutch health care company, which provides pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, by operating

apothecaries ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Ameri ...

and by delivering to medical centres and

patient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other hea ...

s. The company is active in 15 countries and in 2012 had a revenue of

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2.61 billion. Since 2013 it has been owned by

Advent International Advent International is a global private equity firm focused on buyouts of companies in Western and Central Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia. The firm focuses on international buyouts, growth and strategic restructuring in five core ...

History

Founded in 1899 as "Onderlinge Pharmaceutische Groothandel" (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: ''Mutual Pharmaceutical Wholesale Company''), it was a cooperative association of apothecaries who did not want medicine to be supplied by unauthorised people, and who started creating their own pharmaceuticals on a small scale. Over time activities increased and in 1988 it was renamed as "Coöperatieve Apothekers Vereniging OPG U.A." (

: ''Cooperative Apothecaries Association OPG U.A.'') - wholesale was removed from the name, however it remained in the abbreviation OPG. In 1992 the company was listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange and this was followed on 10 January 2001 when the association became a

joint-stock company A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's capital stock, stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their share (finance), shares (certificates ...

(''naamloze vennootschap'') under the name "OPG Groep NV" (

: ''OPG Group NV''). In 2009 the name was finally changed to Mediq NV, the current official name. In a 2011 tactical analysis by Mediq it was concluded that leaving the stock exchange and becoming a privately owned company, was the best longterm strategy.

expressed interest in purchasing the company in 2012. On 13 February 2013 they bought the stocks and on 13 March 2013 Mediq left the stockmarket.

Activities

Mediq provides pharmaceuticals and medical supplies. It has its own chain of apothecaries, supplies other medical centres, and supplies to patients directly at home. They are the market leader in the Netherlands with 226 of their own pharmacies, about 25 franchises, and supplies another 160 pharmacies. The company is active in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

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Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

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Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

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Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

and the

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. Their headquarters are located in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

, Netherlands.

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.mediq.com

References

Health care companies of the Netherlands Health care companies established in 1899 Dutch brands 2013 mergers and acquisitions Private equity portfolio companies Privately held companies of the Netherlands Companies formerly listed on Euronext Amsterdam Dutch companies established in 1899