MELVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — Henry Schein Inc. is buying veterinary distribution business AUV Veterinary Services B.V. from the privately held AUV Group, in part to gain access to the Dutch and Belgian animal health markets.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

AUV Veterinary Services, which had 2011 sales of $270.4 million, serves animal health practitioners in the Netherlands and Belgium. The company also includes AUV Advies, a consulting business serving veterinary practices, and AUV Academie, an education offering for veterinarians and their staff.

AUV Group, which is based in Cuijk, Netherlands, includes a distribution business and a pharmaceutical business. It also includes a majority stake in a pet insurance business and the holding company. The acquisition involves only AUV Group’s distribution and related businesses, which serve more than 2,000 large and small animal veterinarians.

Henry Schein provides health care products and services to dental, medical and veterinary practitioners. In February its fourth-quarter profit rose 13 percent, with acquisitions helping its international sales.

“AUV will provide Henry Schein entry into the Dutch and Belgian animal health markets as the category leader. This important addition will further our Pan-European strategy of providing animal health practitioners across the continent with the products and services needed to operate more efficient practices and provide high quality care,” Henry Schein CEO Stanley Bergman said in a statement Wednesday.

The transaction is expected to slightly reduce Henry Schein’s 2012 earnings per share and add to its earnings per share after that. The buyout is expected to bring revenue for the Melville, N.Y., company’s animal health business to more than $2 billion annually.

The acquisition is expected to close later in the quarter.