Bioeconomy company BRAIN AG has announced the signing of a share purchase agreement between Brain and Biocatalysts Ltd, a Cardiff-based company active in the field of speciality enzymes. For over 35 years, Biocatalysts has focused on the development, production and distribution of speciality enzymes for various industries such as food and fine chemicals.
BRAIN (short for Biotechnology Research and Information Network) is one of one of Europe’s leading technology companies in the field of industrial biotechnology, the core discipline of Bioeconomy. Headquartered in Germany, BRAIN focuses on developing microorganisms, natural substances and enzymes for the industrial use.
Dr. Jürgen Eck, CEO of BRAIN AG, commented: “The new strategic partnership with Biocatalysts is aimed at accelerating product development, production and marketing of innovations in a growing bioeconomy, which includes the field of speciality enzymes.
“Biocatalysts is one of the leading players in this field with proven production expertise as well as access to global markets. Together we can fuel our complementary enzyme businesses, increase growth margins and strengthen BRAIN Group’s BioIndustrial segment, which aims at marketing own product candidates.”
The transaction will be completed within the first quarter of 2018. After the completion of the transaction, Biocatalysts Ltd. will continue to operate under the current company name.
Stuart West, MD of Biocatalysts Ltd., commented: “Becoming a member of the BRAIN Group is an exciting opportunity to broaden our business in the rapidly growing speciality enzymes markets. Jointly we can more effectively develop innovative products for various industry sectors and bring them to market. BRAIN and Biocatalysts have a complementary product portfolio and also an excellent fit in terms of our vision to actively shape the future bioeconomy.”
Biocatalysts Ltd. is profitable and generated revenues of approximately €9.03 million (£ 7.978 million) in the 2015/2016 financial year. The revenue for the financial year 2016/17 is €10.81 million (£ 9,546 million), which corresponds to a growth rate of 19.7% compared to the previous year.
Biocatalysts Ltd.’s turnover has grown by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12% between 2014/15 and 2016/17.
This acquisition follows on from a number of strategic steps in recent months to grow its future business. Few weeks ago the company founded a US subsidiary, BRAIN LLC, to internationalize its business operations and improve customer relations in the US.
Frank Goebel, CFO of BRAIN AG, explained: “We have taken a new milestone in our M&A strategy for strengthening our product-driven business segment BioIndustrial. Biocatalysts is a perfect partner to accelerate the work from labs to products and participate in the growth of the speciality enzyme markets.”
Biocatalysts is currently expanding its state-of-the-art production facilities aligned to its continued success in enzyme development.
Andrew Ellis, technical and compliance director of Biocatalysts, said: “BRAIN is a highly innovative biotechnology pioneer possessing a strong and complementary technology portfolio. Getting direct access to BRAIN’s BioArchive, which encompasses a huge variety of enzymes and entire metabolic pathways, will fuel our joint activities.”
