USA – Neogen Corporation has acquired the assets of Chile-based distributor of food, animal, and plant diagnostics products, Magiar Chilena.

The American food safety test kits supplier said that it will incorporate the Magiar assets into its wholly owned subsidiary, Neogen Chile SpA, for continued operations in Chile.

Combined with Neogen’s January acquisition of similar businesses in Argentina and Uruguay, the company said that the acquisition in Chile completes its physical presence in the important agricultural Southern Cone region of South America.

According to the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, Chile is among the top 10 agricultural exporters in the world. Chile’s main export commodities are fish, seafood, wine, fresh fruit, dairy, and meat products.

The country’s gross domestic product per capita reached US$16,965 in 2017, which is the highest one in the Latin American region, and is one of the main drivers for consumer spending.

Supported by its large beef and dairy populations along with significant food crops that comprise large exports, Neogen noted that the region is an important market for the company.

“The addition of operations in Chile gives us a direct presence in nearly all of the major agricultural and food industry markets in South America,” said John Adent, Neogen’s president and chief executive officer.

“The use of distributors in distant regions, such as the Southern Cone, was critical as we established ourselves as a company capable of efficiently delivering our solutions to global markets.

“Combined with our recent acquisitions in Argentina, Uruguay, Italy, and Australia, this acquisition shows that we believe now is the time to drive our own growth in important global markets.” 

Magiar was founded in 1998, and has marketed diagnostic products for animal feed and food quality control, including Neogen’s instrument-based food safety diagnostics.

The Chile operations will be managed directly through Neogen’s Latin American operations and will offer direct sales of Neogen food safety, animal safety, and genomic solutions into the country. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Neogen has also acquired the food safety assets of Australia-based Cell BioSciences, a major supplier of food safety and industrial microbiology products in Australia.