Neogen acquires Ireland-based food quality diagnostics firm

Neogen acquires Ireland-based food quality diagnostics firm

LANSING — Food and animal safety products manufacturer Neogen Corp. continues its international expansion with the acquisition of a supplier of analytical products deployed in food and beverage quality control laboratories. 

Neogen (Nasdaq: NEOG) said Monday that it acquired Bray, Ireland-based Megazyme Ltd. and plans to run the operations as a standalone company managed through Neogen’s European base in Scotland. Megazyme’s business complements Neogen’s existing food diagnostics products and helps expand the Michigan firm’s slate of solutions it provides to the industry. 

The company is a developer of test kits and reagents used in analytical and research laboratories, particularly to measure carbohydrates and enzymes in grain and cereal products, according to a statement. 

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

Neogen had forged a “long relationship” with Megazyme and was familiar with the company’s operations and products, according to Dr. Jason Lilly, vice president of international business at Neogen. 

“The addition of Megazyme to the global Neogen business will strengthen our relationships with the largest food producers and those companies that are aligned with our mission of food security and quality,” Lilly said in a statement. “The integration of the Megazyme product line into Neogen’s traditional food safety products will allow us to expand our commercial relationships across food companies and ensure not only safe food, but the highest quality and nutritional content.”

Megazyme was originally founded in Sydney, Australia in 1988 and operated from Ireland since 1996. Co-founder and CEO Dr. Barry McCleary will remain as a strategic adviser in food quality diagnostics for Neogen.

The deal comes on the heels of a busy year of M&A for Neogen, which completed six international deals in 2020, plus one bolt-on acquisition.

Internationally last year, the company acquired Argentina-based Productos Quimicos Magiar S.A., a longtime distributor in South America; Milan, Italy-based Diessechem S.r.l., a distributor of food and feed safety diagnostic products; U.K-based Abtek Biologicals Ltd., a developer and supplier of culture media supplements and microbiology technologies; the food safety assets of Australia-based Cell BioSciences, a supplier of food safety and industrial microbiology products; and Chile-based Magiar Chilena, a distributor of food, animal and plant diagnostics. 

Neogen in July also acquired the U.S. rights to StandGuard Pour-on, a product that combats horn fly and lice within domestic beef cattle, from global animal products supplier Elanco Animal Health Inc. for nearly $2.4 million. The deal helped paved the way for Elanco to receive Federal Trade Commission approval for its $7.6 billion acquisition of Bayer Animal Health GmbH