UK— UK feed manufacturer, AB Agri, has acquired Greencoat Limited, the animal supplement and care business including the NAF, NutriLabs, Natural VetCare and Greencoat Farm brands.
Greencoat’s products are well known in the UK and EU, including the flagship NAF Five Star brand, which is synonymous with equine supplements across Europe, said AB Agri.
NAF will continue to operate on a standalone basis, led by the team at NAF head office and manufacturing facility in Monmouth, selling its products directly through its network of specialist retailers and online channels.
Commenting on the announcement, AB Agri CEO, José Nobre said: “The acquisition of Greencoat is a key step in our strategic goal to expand our international animal nutrition and technology business into new and exciting areas.
The animal supplements market is growing fast and Greencoat will bring its experience and expertise in direct-to-consumer sales and marketing, complementing our own deep understanding of the nutrition and care of horses and enabling us to develop our position in animal supplements.”
AB Agri said its longer-term goal is to create a multi-species portfolio of products for the international supplement markets, built upon its wider technical expertise and innovation capabilities.
NAF founder Richard Cleeve, who is to retire, said: “We were impressed with their (AB Agri) commitment to the production of quality products and their passion for innovation.
AB Agri will invest in manufacturing, brands and people and their vision is to make these brands the most prominent in the world.”
AB Agri has been keen on creating research alliances – late last year it established a tie-up with US biotech, Intralytix, to explore the use of bacteriophages in feed as an alternative to antibiotics and other drugs.
Meanwhile, it has also been focusing on innovation in feed supplements, having signed a licensing agreement with Pond Technologies Inc last autumn to develop an algae-based feed ingredient supply in the UK.
In a debrief to its shareholders on the project in May this year, the Canadian company confirmed that initial engineering work on the project has been completed.
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