Ex-Intern Becomes Billionaire in Australia Pharmacy Merger (1)

A corporate tie-up in Australia has produced a parade of fortunes in an industry hardly known for extravagance.

More than 100 shareholders are officially millionaires. At least 10 are worth over $100 million. And atop the group are three billionaires, including one former intern.

Behind this blitz of riches, rare even for Australia where a decades-long mining boom has minted fortunes, is the merger of closely held pharmacy franchiser Chemist Warehouse with publicly traded Sigma Healthcare Ltd. — a deal that has created one of Australia’s largest pharmacy chains and wholesalers.

A Chemist Warehouse store in Sydney.

Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg

The biggest winners: Chemist Warehouse’s founders — Jack ...