Charles River Laboratories to acquire Citoxlab

Charles River Laboratories (MA, USA) announced that they have signed a binding offer to acquire Citoxlab (Évreux, France) for $510 million subject to customary closing adjustments. This deal intends to strengthen Charles River’s scientific portfolio, enhance global scale to meet the growing demand and expand its client base of biopharmaceutical’s, thereby increasing early-stage CRO activity.

Citoxlab is a non-clinical CRO specializing in regulated safety assessment services, non-regulatory discovery services and medical device testing. It is hoped that this acquisition will strengthen Charles River’s position as an early-stage CRO and enhance its partnering capabilities with clients across the drug discovery and development continuum.

“The proposed acquisition of Citoxlab would expand and solidify Charles River’s position as the partner of choice for our clients’ early-stage research needs, at a time when we believe there continues to be significant demand for outsourced services from both biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies,” commented James Foster, Chairman, President and CEO of Charles River Laboratories. “Citoxlab would be an exceptional strategic fit for Charles River because it incorporates the key attributes we require in an acquisition: scientific expertise, complementary capabilities, talented people and access to growing end markets.”

By acquiring Citoxlab, Charles River’s expects to add $115–130 million to its 2019 consolidated revenue and approximately $200 million to 2020 consolidated revenue. Citoxlab’s revenue is also expected to grow, consistent with the long-term organic revenue growth target for Charles River’s discovery and safety assessment segment.

“Becoming part of the Charles River family would be a significant achievement and recognition of the accomplishments of Citoxlab and our dedicated team,” commented Jean-François Le Bigot, Chairman and CEO of Citoxlab.

“After many years of growth, I am very pleased and excited to embark on a new era for Citoxlab. I am confident that Charles River is committed to our global employees and advancing our mission through our extensive scientific capabilities. At a time when new drug approvals are at record levels and the complexity of each drug candidate is increasing, we believe the collaboration of our respective scientific teams, the implementation of best practices and the synergies between the early-stage services offered by Charles River and Citoxlab would represent a significant growth opportunity for both organizations, and also enhance the value that we provide to all of our clients to meet their individual needs.”

 Source: www.criver.com/insights/charles-river-signs-binding-offer-to-acquire-citoxlab?region=3696