Last checked at 12 Jan 2011 07:00
12 January 2011, London, UK
Intertek acquires American Analytical Chemistry Laboratories Corp for £4.5m
Intertek Group plc (Intertek), the leading international provider of quality and safety services to a wide range of industries, announces that it has acquired American Analytical Chemistry Laboratories Corp. (AAC Labs), a business that provides laboratory-based food testing in the United States.
The privately owned company was purchased on 31 December 2010, for a cash consideration of USD 6.9 million (GBP 4.5 million). Based in Champaign, Illinois USA, AAC Labs employs 28 staff.
AAC Labs helps companies that develop, produce and distribute food and beverages to analyse their chemical content. Its services help to monitor for the presence of residues, pesticides and antibiotics and to establish compliance with regulations and quality and health standards. AAC Labs also helps clients to verify nutrient content and other properties during the product development or registration-stages of regulated foods, functional foods and nutrition supplements and nutraceuticals.
Intertek continues to expand its network of food services and AAC Labs adds North American chemical testing capabilities to the Group's existing chemical testing, microbiological, inspection, auditing and certification services.
The food business is subject to strong market fundamentals as food recalls and content regulations lead the food industry to conduct more food content and quality control. Increased health awareness is also driving growth in the functional food market which in turn is increasing the demand for chemical testing to support new food product development.
Wolfhart Hauser, Chief Executive Officer of Intertek, commented:
"We are continuing our strategy of expanding our food services through organic investment and acquisitions. Food chemical testing is an important part of regulatory and product development support to clients and AAC Labs gives us a good position to capture the growing market for this from the Americas region".
Contacts
Aston Swift / Sarah Ogilvie Intertek
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7396 3400
aston.swift@intertek.com / sarah.ogilvie@intertek.com
Richard Mountain / Sophie Moate, Financial Dynamics
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7269 7121
richard.mountain@fd.com / sophie.moate@fd.com
Notes to Editors
ABOUT INTERTEK
Intertek is a leading provider of quality and safety solutions serving a wide range of industries around the world. From auditing and inspection, to testing, quality assurance and certification, Intertek people are dedicated to adding value to customers' products and processes, supporting their success in the global marketplace. Intertek has the expertise, resources and global reach to support its customers through its network of more than 1,000 laboratories and offices and over 26,000 people in more than 100 countries around the world.
Intertek Group plc (LSE: ITRK) is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index.
www.intertek.com