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Animalcare Group PLC on Tuesday said it had entered into a conditional agreement to acquire Randlab Australia Pty Ltd for around £62.2 million in part using proceeds from fundraising announced today. Animalcare is a York, England-based supplier of veterinary pharmaceutical products. It said Randlab is an Australian-based equine veterinary business. The acquisition will be funded through Animalcare’s existing cash resources, committed debt facilities and a new equity placing through an accelerated bookbuild process launched on Tuesday. Animalcare raised £20 million before expenses through an oversubscribed placing and subscription. The company placed around 8.6 million shares at a price of 232.50 pence per placing share. The share price represents a discount of 5.1% to Monday’s last closing price of 245.00 pence. The company said its largest shareholder, Alychlo NV, participated for 10% of the fundraise. Animalcare said it expects the acquisition to be materially earnings accretive, by at least 20% in financial 2025. Chief Executive Jenny Winter said: ‘We are delighted to have reached an agreement to acquire Randlab subject to completion of the transaction. This is a highly attractive opportunity to acquire a market-leading equine asset in Australia that is expected to deliver significant earnings accretion in 2025. ‘This is a transformational deal that provides an excellent fit with our growth strategy and is complementary to our product portfolio...Not only will this acquisition significantly elevate the group’s offering in a growing equine market, it will also open wider opportunities in a commercially and regulatorily aligned business environment,’ she said. On the fundraise, Winter said: ‘We are delighted to announce today’s successful fundraise of £20 million...The net proceeds of the fundraise will be used to part fund the acquisition of Randlab - a transformational deal that provides an excellent fit with our growth strategy and is complementary to our product portfolio.’ Shares in Animalcare were down 0.7% to 243.25 pence in London on Tuesday afternoon. Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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