Fontana paid $854m for Monarch pharmacy chain
Published:Friday | September 12, 2025 | 12:08 AM
Fontana Limited acquired the Monarch chain of pharmacies for four and a half times its asset value, new disclosures about the deal show.
The purchase price was $854 million, noted the auditor of Fontana’s year-end accounts.
The financial report listed Monarch’s identifiable assets at $182.4 million, and goodwill or intangible of $672 million.
“The company is in the process of performing a detailed valuation of the identifiable intangible assets acquired. This may result in reclassification between goodwill and other intangible assets upon completion,” noted auditor CrichtonMullings & Associates.
Fontana, the largest pharmacy chain in Jamaica, now has eleven stores in its network, four of which were previously Monarch pharmacies, which have been rebranded.
Monarch was founded over 30 years ago by the Loshusan family, who also operate supermarket businesses and develop commercial real estate.
The expected timeline for a return on the investment was not disclosed.
The acquisition pushed Fontana’s total assets to $6.9 billion, up from $5.7 billion a year earlier. The largest portion of that increase came from intangible assets, which rose to $865 million from $202 million.
In the year ending June, Fontana reported annual revenue of $9.5 billion, up from $8.1 billion in 2024. Net profit amounted to $591 million, a marginal increase from $590 million a year earlier.
In a joint statement, Chairman Kevin Chang and CEO Anne Chang described the year as successful.
“In what is considered a transformational year, the company delivered an exceptional performance marked by strong revenue growth, increased customer acquisition, and stable net profit, even while completing a major acquisition,” the directors said.