THE Deal of the Month for April ticked a lot of boxes for our judges. It demonstrated a Midlands plc’s international ambitions and highlighted the skills of the local advisory community and the funding capacity of a banking collective.
Staffordshire-based veterinary products supplier Dechra Pharmaceuticals expanded in a big way at the start of the month with the £112.5m acquisition of Dutch firm Eurovet Animal Health.
Eurovet is a continent-wide veterinary pharmaceuticals business which operates in both the animal pharmaceuticals and farm animal pharmaceuticals markets. It is the pharmaceutical business of AUV Holding.
The deal was heavily advised out of Birmingahm and showcased the city’s professional services sector.
Charles Cook, of law firm DLA Piper’s Midlands office in Birmingham, was lead partner on the deal.
He said: “Dechra is one of the great success stories of Midlands companies – having taken advantage of the opportunities presented by the global pharmaceutical market. We are delighted to have assisted them in this key strategic acquisition.”
Investec Investment Banking was financial adviser and broker with KPMG the reporting accountant.
The Birmingham-based banking syndicate comprised Lloyds, Barclays, HSBC and Handelsbanken.
TheBusinessDesk.com editor Andy Coyne said: “This was a great deal. As Dechra points out, Eurovet has a similar structure to itself. But it also has sales and marketing operations in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Denmark and supplies to more than 40 countries in the EU and worldwide.
“Dechra is adding bulk and will be able to build on Eurovet’s international reach.
“It is also great to see a number of banks uniting to fund a deal that will surely boost the Staffordshire economy in the long term.”
Ian Page, Dechra’s group chief executive, said: “This is a great opportunity to build on the strong foundation we have created for our pharmaceuticals business. The combined management teams are very excited by the prospects the enlarged group will create.”
Deal of the Month: Click through to see the front runners for our latest Deal of the Month Award.
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