Eurofins Scientific--a firm that conducts bioanalytical testing--announced last week that it has signed an agreement to acquire Exova's food, water and pharmaceutical testing business in the UK and Ireland, comprising ten laboratories. The transaction is expected to be completed in July, upon fulfilment of customary closing conditions.

Collectively, the ten laboratories employ more than 300 staff and are expected to generate revenues in excess of $20 million (EUR) in 2016. Of the ten laboratories, three are for food testing, five for water testing, and two for pharmaceutical products testing.

Exova's food and water testing laboratories should reinforce Eurofins' existing footprint as well as expand client reach in the UK and Ireland. The food testing laboratories provide safety testing with a strong competence in microbiology, as well as nutritional analysis, for both food manufacturers and retailers, whilst the water testing laboratories serve local authorities and consultants. The acquisition of these laboratories reinforces Eurofins' distribution channel for its wide range of analytical services. In return, the laboratories will have access to the entire Eurofins portfolio of services and infrastructure, and benefit from the group's logistical network, thereby allowing them to further penetrate their respective local markets, and increase their share of their clients' testing spend.

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