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Food safety company Mérieux NutriSciences has agreed to acquire the food testing business of Bureau Veritas for €360m.
The deal will created a business with $1bn in annual revenues, reinforcing Mérieux NutriSciences’ position as a leader in food testing, inspection, and certification.
It expands Mérieux NutriSciences’ geographic footprint, doubling its presence in Asia Pacific and Canada, and providing access to new regions with “considerable growth potential”.
Additionally, Mérieux NutriSciences is in advanced discussions with AsureQuality, the New Zealand-based food assurance provider, to continue the joint ventures that currently exist with Bureau Veritas in Australia and Southeast Asia.
“The acquisition of Bureau Veritas’ food testing business marks a pivotal milestone for Mérieux NutriSciences,” said CEO Nicolas Cartier.
“It will significantly enhance our ability to serve our customers, and ultimately increase our contribution to the safety, quality, and sustainability of global food systems. After closing of the transaction, together with the 1,900 future colleagues joining us from Bureau Veritas, we will be even stronger in fulfilling our purpose: ’Better Food. Better Health. Better World.’”
Hinda Gharbi, CEO of Bureau Veritas, added: “We are pleased to partner with Mérieux NutriSciences, a leader in food testing, whose global footprint and proven expertise is the perfect fit for our food business and would allow it to thrive and to contribute to make food systems safer, healthier and more sustainable.”
Morning update
Chief executives from the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Bestway have urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to “level the playing field” with a 20% cut to business rates.
In a letter to Reeves ahead of the budget later this month, 71 retail bosses have warned thousands more shops could be forced to close thier doors if reforms to the property tax are not made.
Co-ordinated by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the letter asks the Treasury to introduce a ‘retail rates corrector’, which see a 20% downward adjustment to the levy.
Read the full story in The Grocer here.
Sainsbury’s is preparing for the Christmas season by creating 20,000 seasonal roles nationwide, including 18,000 at Sainsbury’s and 2,000 at Argos.
Chief people officer Prerana Issar said: “As the festive season draws near, we’re getting ready to create a memorable Christmas for our customers – and our brilliant colleagues play a central role in bringing this to life.”
This week in the City
Newsflow on the markets slows down for fmcg this week as Parliament returns to business.
The latest Kantar grocery sales figures and the BRC-KPMG retail sales data for September are out on the morning, while the Barclays Consumer Spend report is also out.
Imperial Brands also put a trading statement out tomorrow and, over in the US, the latest quaterly results from PepsiCo are also published.
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