Henry Schein enters Japanese dental market

Health care products wholesaler Henry Schein Inc. has entered the Japanese dental market through a minority investment in Iwase Dental Supply Inc., the company announced.

Iwase, the third-largest dental products distributor in Japan, employs 240 and posted 2013 sales of $190 million, according to Henry Schein.

Terms of the deal and Henry Schein's ownership percentage were not disclosed, but the Iwase family will retain a majority of the Utsunomiya, Japan, company's shares. The deal is expected to be neutral to the earnings of Melville-based Henry Schein, which said it plans to seek additional acquisition targets in Japan.

"Henry Schein is pleased to enter the world's second largest dental market alongside such a highly regarded partner as Iwase Dental Supply," Stanley M. Bergman, chairman and chief executive of Henry Schein, said in a statement. "We believe the Japanese dental market, with an estimated 68,000 practicing dentists serving an aging population and increasing demand for elective dental procedures, will continue to grow in the years to come."

Henry Schein, Long Island's largest company based on revenues, distributes health care products to the offices of veterinarians, dentists and doctors. The latest deal increases the number of countries in which Henry Schein operates to 28.

By Ken Schachter

kenneth.schachter@newsday.comkschach

Ken Schachter covers corporate news, including technology and aerospace, and other business topics for Newsday. He has also worked at The Miami Herald and The Jerusalem Post.