Chr Hansen announced that it had completed the acquisition of UAS Laboratories following the satisfaction of all closing conditions. With UAS Labs, Chr Hansen further strengthens its microbial platform and Human Health business by moving into the highly attractive space of multi-species. High-potency blends and broadens its product offering and customer base. Furthermore, Chr Hansen is expanding its manufacturing footprint with two GMP facilities in the United States, which will allow the phasing of CAPEX projects over the coming years and reduce enterprise risk.
Denmark-based Chr Hansen is a leading, global bioscience company that develops natural solutions for the food, nutritional, pharmaceutical, and agricultural industries. The company has a presence in more than 30 countries.
Mauricio Graber, chief executive officer of Chr Hansen, said, “With the closing of the UAS Labs acquisition, we look forward to building upon both companies’ strengths. We will expand our probiotic offerings from strain to solution, gain access to new customer groups, and move into new indication areas while staying true to our commitment to science and R&D. We are excited to welcome the team from UAS Labs to the Chr Hansen organization. We will pursue a ‘best of both’ approach for the integration to create value for customers and shareholders. I am convinced that together we can truly shape the global probiotics market for the future.”
Chr Hansen to begin the process of integrating UAS Labs
UAS Labs has 230 employees and is expected to generate revenues of around US$ 85 million and EBITDA above US$ 30 million before synergies in 2020. Guidance for the full year 2019-20 is maintained, though the acquisition will have a minor negative impact on Group EBIT margin before special items. In 2020-21, there will be a negative impact on Group EBIT margin before special items of around 1% (preliminary estimate) due to depreciation of the acquired tangible and intangible assets. By 2024-25, the acquisition is expected to be EBIT margin neutral to slightly accretive.
Acquiring UAS Labs is entirely in line with Chr Hansen’s strategy and capital allocation framework for pursuing bolt-on acquisitions to strengthen its microbial platform. UAS Labs has been acquired from the private equity fund Lakeview Equity Partners, management team, and other shareholders at a transaction value, net of tax assets, of US$ 530 million. Leverage will increase short-term to around 3x net debt or EBITDA by the end of the financial year 2019-20, but Chr Hansen aims to bring down the net debt to a level consistent with a solid investment-grade rating.
