today announced it has agreed to acquire Australian practitioner-only supplement brand FIT-BioCeuticals Limited (BioCeuticals) for a maximum cash payment of $40 million.
Blackmores has an 80 year heritage in research and product development and is the number one brand in natural health in Australia,” said Blackmores’ CEO, Christine Holgate. BioCeuticals has earned strong credibility in the Practitioner channel where they lead the market and are renowned for their quality, highly efficacious products.
The combination of Blackmores and BioCeuticals gives us a powerhouse of over 100 qualified healthcare professionals in the Blackmores Group, including naturopaths. It gives us greater depth of expertise and affirms our position as the clear market leader in natural health and the largest natural health company in Australia.”
An amount of $38.4m is payable on completion and an additional payment of up to $1.6m will be payable after completion if certain conditions are met relating to earnings for FY12. The purchase price is also subject to a post completion working capital adjustment mechanism.
The transaction is currently scheduled for completion on 5 July 2012. And will involve an acquisition of all BioCeuticals shares, free of debt. It incorporates the transfer of BioCeuticals’ brand names, product portfolio and an experienced team of over 100 staff. The business will continue to operate from its current Alexandria location in Sydney.
It is our intention to run BioCeuticals and its existing brands as a stand-alone business, utilising the resources and knowledge within both companies to improve our ability to service our customers,” says Holgate. The acquisition is a key part of Blackmores’ strategy and brings greater channel diversity to our business within the category we operate. The practitioner market is growing and profitable with qualified healthcare professionals having an important role in providing total health solutions and advice to consumers. Importantly, it is our customers who stand to benefit from our increased investment in research, innovation and healthcare professional education.”
We feel this is both the right move and a smart move,” said FIT-BioCeuticals CEO, Sean Hall. Individually these companies have demonstrated strong leadership positions in their markets, both companies focus on nurturing an innovative ‘family’ culture – so together we can accomplish more, ultimately for the benefit of all Australians.”
BioCeuticals was founded in 1993 and develops supplements to integrative medicine practitioners, natural health professionals, pharmacists and health food stores. FIT-BioCeuticals’ main brands are BioCeuticals and IsoWhey but includes smaller brands including a biotechnology and research arm.