Henry Schein to widen its presence in Japan’s dental market

Henry Schein Inc., Long Island’s largest publicly traded company by revenue, is expanding its presence in Japan.

The Melville-based medical giant announced Wednesday that it is entering into a partnership with J. Morita Corp., a 100-year-old Japanese maker and distributor of dental equipment and supplies.

Henry Schein is acquiring a 50 percent stake in One Piece Corp., a subsidiary of J. Morita. One Piece consists of eight dental dealers throughout Japan, which serve approximately 6,000 dental clinics and had aggregate sales in fiscal 2015 of approximately $125 million, according to Henry Schein. In a news release, Henry Schein said it expects the transaction to be neutral to financial results. The Melville company did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

Henry Schein first entered the Japanese market in October 2014, when it invested in Iwase Dental Supply Inc., a provider of dental products.

“Japan represents an exciting strategic opportunity for Henry Schein,” Stanley M. Bergman, chairman of the board and chief executive of Henry Schein, said in a statement. “While Iwase Dental serves customers in the greater Tokyo area, the One Piece dealers are located throughout the country, giving Henry Schein Japan a wide presence in the marketplace.”

By Maura McDermott

maura.mcdermott@newsday.commauramcdermott

Maura McDermott covers education. Since joining Newsday in 2012, she also has worked on the investigations team and covered real estate and the business of health care.