UDG Healthcare sells stake in supply JV to partner Alliance Boots

Aug 18 (Reuters) - UDG Healthcare Plc (LSE: UDG.L - news) said it had sold its 50 percent stake in a healthcare supply chain joint venture to partner Alliance Boots Holdings Ltd for 82 million euros ($110 million).

Dublin-based UDG said it expected to use part of the proceeds of 70 million euros to pay down debt.

The joint venture, UniDrug Distribution Group Ltd, provides pre-wholesale supply chain services to the healthcare industry in the UK, including storage, fulfilment and distribution.

The deal provides much-needed liquidity for UDG's acquisition strategy in its more valuable sales and marketing and packaging divisions, Jefferies analysts said in a note.

UDG Chief Executive Liam Fitzgerald said the convergence of the pre-wholesale and wholesale healthcare markets in the UK meant that the UniDrug business was no longer a good fit with UDG's core supply chain operations in Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) and Northern Ireland.

Shares (Frankfurt: DI6.F - news) of UDG, former United Drug, were down 0.6 percent at 342.5 pence in early trading on the London Stock Exchange (Other OTC: LDNXF - news) on Monday.

($1 = 0.7469 euros) (Reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar in Bangalore; Editing by Ted Kerr)