Merial deal promises Ancare global access 5:00AM Thursday October 25, 2007 By Owen Hembry A deal with animal healthcare giant Merial will open up international markets to Kiwi products, says Ancare managing director Colin Harvey.
US-based Merial, which has operations in more than 150 countries and had sales last year of US$2.2 billion ($2.9 billion), has bought the intellectual property and assets of parasiticide drench maker Ancare.
As part of the deal, Harvey will retain the ownership of the research and development part of the company, called Ancare Scientific, and the intellectual property of any new products he develops but with an exclusive arrangement to supply Merial.
"I have been looking to try and expand my distribution internationally for some time and this provides the vehicle," Harvey said.
"We have probably the best distribution system available to us now in the world."
Ancare had turnover of more than $45 million and employed 73 people worldwide, with an office in Takapuna and a plant in East Tamaki.
Harvey did not anticipate any redundancy.
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Merial Oceania managing director Steve Rochester said Ancare had shown New Zealand could develop products to make others take notice.
"There are many aspects of Ancare's operations that we admire tremendously," Rochester said. "It is our intention to utilise the best of both companies."
