Bryan, Garnier & Co advised bioMérieux in the acquisition of AES Laboratoire
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Paris, October 3rd 2011 – Bryan, Garnier & Co, the independent pan-European Investment bank focusing on growth companies, has advised bioMérieux on the acquisition of AES Laboratoire in July 2011 and on the subsequent delisting of the group’s subsidiary AES Chemunex shares in September 2011. With this acquisition, bioMérieux becomes the world leader in the food testing market. This is bioMérieux’s ninth acquisition in five years and its third in the area of industrial applications.
bioMérieux acquired 100% of the shares of SKIVA (holding company of the AES Laboratoire group) at a price of €183 million, from Abénex Capital, the group’s majority shareholder since 2003, other investment funds (EPF Partners, Fortis PE France, BNP Paribas) and the management.
Bryan, Garnier & Co acted as exclusive financial advisor to bioMérieux.
Established in 1980, AES Laboratoire is the first manufacturer to develop a full line of tools for microbiology laboratories, from sample collection to results. The company ranks fifth among industrial microbiology companies worldwide, with annual sales of 76 million euros.
AES Laboratoire has close to 400 employees, with R&D and manufacturing sites located in France and Canada, in addition to four commercial subsidiaries. Commercial and administrative headquarters are based near Rennes (France).
AES Laboratoire’s unique expertise in the agri-food and cosmetic sectors will support bioMérieux’s growth strategy. bioMérieux intends to further develop and invest in AES Laboratoire’s cytometry solutions and other promising platforms, reinforcing the company’s strong competitive position.
Olivier Garnier, Managing Partner at Bryan, Garnier & Co said: “This new major transaction by Bryan, Garnier & Co demonstrates our ability to develop long standing relationships with our clients and to back them in the development of their growth platforms through strategically relevant acquisitions.”
Hervé Ronin, Director Healthcare at Bryan, Garnier & Co, added: “Our team worked closely and synergistically with bioMérieux to deliver this complex transaction. Having identified early the numerous challenges ahead of us in this deal, we have successfully designed and pursued a strategy to tackle each one of them and clear all the roadblocks leading to this strategic and visible acquisition.”
About bioMérieux
With sales of €1.4bn in 2010, bioMérieux is the world’s seventh-largest in vitro diagnostics (IVD) group. Indeed, bioMérieux has been involved in the field of IVD for over 45 years, and is present in more than 150 countries through 39 subsidiaries and a large network of around 2,000 sales, marketing and service representatives.
These features are unique in the IVD sector. This achievement is clearly the result of its long-term presence and vision spear-headed by the Mérieux family (representing 59% of bioMérieux shareholder funds). The Mérieux family itself, has been involved in the infectious diseases area for an impressive 115 years.
The company boasts a wide range of technologies, the focus being on microbiology, immunoassays, and molecular biology, alongside theranostics. This has resulted in an outstanding installed base of some 60,000 machines.