Eurofins Scientific has signed an agreement to acquire Exova’s food, water and pharmaceutical testing business in the UK & Ireland, comprising 10 laboratories, for approximately GBP 18m, subject to closing adjustments. The transaction is expected to be completed in July, upon fulfilment of customary closing conditions.
Collectively, the 10 laboratories employ more than 300 staff and are expected to generate revenues in excess of EUR 20m in 2016. Of the 10 laboratories, 3 are for food testing, 5 for water testing, and 2 for pharmaceutical products testing.
Exova’s food and water testing laboratories should reinforce Eurofins’ existing footprint as well as expand client reach in the UK and Ireland. The food testing laboratories provide safety testing with a strong competence in microbiology, as well as nutritional analysis, for both food manufacturers and retailers, whilst the water testing laboratories serve local authorities and consultants. The acquisition of these laboratories reinforces Eurofins’ distribution channel for its wide range of analytical services. In return, the laboratories will have access to the entire Eurofins portfolio of services and infrastructure, and benefit from the Group’s logistical network, thereby allowing them to further penetrate their respective local markets, and increase their share of their clients’ testing spend.
The transaction also includes the acquisition of 2 cGMP laboratories offering quality control (QC) analytical services to medium to large pharmaceutical clients. This provides Eurofins with an entry platform to deploy its market-leading biopharmaceutical products testing capabilities to support the thriving pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries in the UK.
Comment from Dr. Gilles Martin, Eurofins CEO: “These laboratories represent a good strategic fit for Eurofins as they reinforce our food and water testing footprint in the UK and Ireland, and give us a foothold to roll-out our globally-renowned competencies in pharmaceutical products testing in the UK, where we did not yet have a laboratory in this business line. I believe that this transaction is very positive for both Eurofins and Exova, as it enables each party to focus its resources and leadership on their core areas of testing. By enabling more focused investments and access to a global portfolio of tests and technologies, as well as higher economies of scale, this should also be a very positive development for clients and other stakeholders in the UK and Ireland.”