Company Announcement No. 15/2020
Chr. Hansen Holding A/S has today entered into an agreement with the owners of UAS Laboratories LLC (“UAS Labs”) to acquire 100% of the Wisconsin based B2B company specializing in clinically documented probiotics. The acquisition of UAS Labs will further strengthen and expand Chr. Hansen’s global microbial platform and Human Health business, and is aligned with the strategy of pursuing bolt-on acquisitions that fit into the microbial platform.
Highlights:
- UAS Labs has a strong organic growth track record based on documented strains and high-potency multi-species blends of dietary supplement probiotics, serving a range of application areas
- 6 trademarked strains within a range of indications including digestive disorders, immune stimulation, infant probiotics, weight management, and other areas
- Broader offerings to customers will generate revenue synergies with current customers, and also provide access to new customers
- Two GMP facilities in Wisconsin, close to Chr. Hansen’s own facilities in Milwaukee, with fermentation capacity and downstream processing, will complement Chr. Hansen’s own facilities, allowing for increased flexibility in phasing of CAPEX projects in the coming years
- Strong fit to Chr. Hansen with significant potentials for production, innovation and commercial synergies, primarily within Human Health
- Chr. Hansen’s outlook for 2019/20 is unchanged, although there will be a minor negative impact to EBIT, depending on the timing of the closing
- Minor EBITDA accretion in 2020/21, EBIT margin neutral to slightly accretive by 2024/25
Please read the full company announcement in the attached document.
For further information please contact:
Martin Riise, Head of Investor Relations, Tel: +45 5339 2250
Annika Stern, Investor Relations Officer, Tel: +45 2399 2382
Camilla Lercke, Head of Media Relations, Tel: +45 5339 2384
About UAS Laboratories LLC
UAS Laboratories LLC, founded in 1979, is a vertically integrated global supplier and manufacturer of probiotic solutions to customers worldwide. The Company provides a comprehensive suite of solutions along the entire probiotic value chain and boasts a differentiated value proposition through deep scientific expertise, world class facilities and capabilities, substantial capacity for growth, vertical integration and global presence. The Company has 230 employees with two manufacturing sites based in Madison and Wausau in Wisconsin, US.
About Lakeview Equity Partners LLC
Lakeview Equity Partners, LLC, established in 2005, is a Milwaukee based private equity fund that focuses on investments in traditional, Midwest-based, middle market companies. Lakeview Equity's mission is to identify and invest in strong, well-managed companies to help them achieve continued growth and profitability and support ownership change, including ownership opportunities for managers and employees. The firm's principals have more than a century of collective experience as successful entrepreneurs, chief executive officers and investors.
About Chr. Hansen
Chr. Hansen is a leading, global bioscience company that develops natural ingredient solutions for the food, nutritional, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. We develop and produce cultures, enzymes, probiotics and natural colors for a rich variety of foods, confectionery, beverages, dietary supplements and even animal feed and plant protection. Our product innovation is based on around 40,000 microbial strains – we like to refer to them as ‘good bacteria’. Our solutions enable food manufacturers to produce more with less – while also reducing the use of chemicals and other synthetic additives – which make our products highly relevant in today’s world. Sustainability is an integral part of Chr. Hansen’s vision to improve food and health. In 2019 Chr. Hansen was ranked as the world’s most sustainable company by Corporate Knights thanks to our strong sustainability efforts and our many collaborative partnerships with our customers. We have been delivering value to our partners – and, ultimately, end consumers worldwide – for over 140 years. We are proud that more than one billion people consume products containing our natural ingredients every day.
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