26 January 2018 – Spectris plc (‘Spectris’) (LSE: SXS), the productivity-enhancing instrumentation and controls company, today announces that it has completed the acquisition of Concept Life Sciences from Equistone Partners Europe and company management. The purchase consideration of £163 million, on a debt and cash-free basis, will be met from existing cash and bank facilities.
Concept Life Sciences is a UK-based group providing integrated drug discovery, development, analytical testing and environmental consultancy services to an international customer base, mainly in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agrochemical and environmental sectors. Additionally, it carries out development and analytical services for the food, consumer and environmental industries. The gross assets of Concept Life Sciences at December 2016 were £73.4 million. Pro-forma revenue (including the full-year impact of acquisitions) in the year to December 2017 was £48.7 million and pro-forma EBITDA was £9.3 million. The business has a history of delivering double digit growth and we expect that to continue.
This acquisition adds test service capabilities to Spectris’ Materials Analysis segment, where it has strong synergies with the activities of Malvern Panalytical, especially in the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and agrochemical markets. These markets are expected to continue to grow as a result of increasing regulation, the complexity of pharmaceutical R&D and investments in new therapies, particularly protein-based pharmaceuticals.
John O’Higgins, Chief Executive, said: “Concept Life Sciences is a high-quality services business which further strengthens our portfolio and enhances our ability to provide customers within the pharmaceutical, life sciences and advanced materials sectors with a combined product and service proposition.”
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Contacts:
Spectris plc
John O’Higgins, Chief Executive
+44 1784 470470
Clive Watson, Group Finance Director
+44 1784 470470
Siobhán Andrews, Head of Corporate Affairs
+44 1784 485325
FTI Consulting
Richard Mountain / Susanne Yule
+44 203 727 1340
ABOUT SPECTRIS
Spectris plc is a leading supplier of productivity-enhancing instrumentation and controls. The Company’s products and technologies help customers to improve product quality and performance, improve core manufacturing processes, reduce downtime and wastage and reduce time to market. Its global customer base spans a diverse range of end user markets. Spectris operates across four business segments which reflect the applications and industries it serves: Materials Analysis, Test and Measurement, In-line Instrumentation and Industrial Controls. Headquartered in Egham, Surrey, United Kingdom, the Company employs approximately 9,000 people with offices in more than 30 countries. For more information, visit www.spectris.com.
ABOUT CONCEPT LIFE SCIENCES
Concept Life Sciences is a UK-based group providing integrated drug discovery, development, analytical testing and environmental consultancy services to an international client base, mainly in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agrochemical and environmental sectors. The group was formed by the acquisition of three companies in 2014, financed by private equity firm Equistone Partners Europe. Subsequently, Concept Life Sciences has made a number of acquisitions to optimise its service offering and to extend its reach in drug discovery and development from target identification through to the clinic to create a world-leading contract research and testing organisation focused on delivering scientific solutions to the global life sciences sector. Additionally, the group’s analytical laboratory facilities carry out both routine and complex method development and analytical services to the food, consumer and environmental industries. The group employs more than 700 full time employees, including more than 500 highly-skilled, experienced scientists working in 11 state-of-the-art laboratories. For more information, visit www.conceptlifesciences.com.