Healthy competition

When Alliance Boots received a £10,40-a-share offer from its own deputy chairman on Friday, it looked to many like a done deal. But rival Celesio thinks otherwise. The German pharmaceutical wholesaler, which runs Lloyds pharmacies, has been sounding out private equity firms over a joint counterbid. While it’s easy to see why Celesio wants a chance to dismantle its larger UK rival, it’s hard to see how it can succeed. The obvious problem is competition. Shipping pharmaceuticals around Europe is ...