Wolverhampton tech business expands UK presence with £18m deal
THE parent of Wolverhampton-based food testing business, Eurofins, has expanded its UK operations with an £18m acquisition.
Eurofins Scientific has signed an agreement to acquire the UK and Ireland Food, Water and Pharmaceutical business of Exova Group.
The sale consists of a portfolio of ten well-established, accredited laboratories across the UK and Ireland which provide a wide range of chemistry and microbiological testing services.
Exova’s Food, Water and Pharmaceutical business in the UK and Ireland generated revenues of around £20m in 2015.
The transaction is expected to be completed this month.
Collectively, the 10 laboratories employ more than 300 staff; three are concerned with food testing, five water testing, and the remaining two for pharmaceutical products testing.
Eurofins said the acquisition would reinforce its 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, while the water testing laboratories serve local authorities and consultants.
The acquisition will mean the Exova laboratories will now have access to the entire Eurofins portfolio of services and infrastructure, and benefit from the group’s logistical network, providing further scope for penetration into their respective local markets, as well as increase their share of their clients’ testing spend.
The transaction also includes the acquisition of two cGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Practices) laboratories, which provide quality control (QC) analytical services to medium to large pharmaceutical firms.
This provides Eurofins with an entry platform on which to deploy its biopharmaceutical products testing capabilities, which supports the UK’s pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
Dr Gilles Martin, CEO, Eurofins said: “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.”
