DCC buys pill manufacturer in first move into US healthcare sector
DCC has bought a pill manufacturer, its first acquisition in the US healthcare sector, as it continues its push into new markets.
The FTSE 100 support services company has acquired Elite One Source Nutritional Services, a Montana-based manufacturer of tablets, capsules and powders for consumer healthcare, for $50m (£35m).
The deal increases the company’s health and beauty division, which manufactures products for brands including pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, PZ Cussons and The Body Shop, by 30pc.
Donal Murphy, chief executive of DCC, said: “The US is an innovative, high-growth market, with a fragmented contract manufacturing base, which offers DCC significant opportunities for organic and acquisitive growth.”
The move is the most recent in a series of expansions into new areas for the group, which has spent around £670m on acquisitions since last April. In November, it announced it had moved into the US fuel market, and last month said it had made its first acquisition in Germany.
DCC has concentrated in recent years on gaining market share by establishing a presence in markets that have traditionally not been dominated by any one player. The US has the world’s largest healthcare and dietary supplements market, produced by lots of different manufacturers.
Robert Plant, from JP Morgan Cazenove, said: “We believe there is an interesting opportunity for the company to expand through acquisitions as we think shown by today’s announcement of its second US deal.”
In a trading update DCC said that profits for the nine months to the end of December were in line with expectations and full-year earnings would be “well ahead of the prior year”.
Shares were trading slightly lower on Wednesday at £69.45, 0.79pc down.
The Telegraph
