Perrigo acquires Velcera pet care company
NEW YORK — Leading private-label supplier Perrigo has acquired pet health company Velcera for $160 million.
The deal follows last fall’s acquisition of Sergeants and signals Perrigo’s intent to accelerate growth in areas beyond its traditional businesses of consumer health care, nutrition products and prescriptions. Velcera is a pet health company best known for its PetArmor brand of flea and tick products that are widely available at retailers nationwide, much to the chagrin of veterinarians. PetArmor had sales of $60 million last year.
"We are very pleased to take this next step in expanding our companion animal healthcare business," said Perrigo chairman and CEO Joseph Papa. "Velcera's product mix represents a natural extension to the Sergeant’s portfolio we acquired last October. The PetArmor franchise will accelerate our strategy to deliver compelling value to both our retail customers and American consumers. Additionally, we see an excellent opportunity to leverage our existing commercial, manufacturing and distribution capabilities, and our customer base, as we aim to make quality, affordable pet care products available to consumers everywhere."
Perrigo announced the acquisition in conjunction with the release of record results for the second quarter ended December 29, and the affirmation of its full year profit forecast. Perrigo expects fiscal 2013 reported earnings to be between $4.73 and $4.93 per share compared to $4.18 in fiscal 2012. On an adjusted basis to exclude some charges, the company expects profits to range from $5.45 and $5.65 per share compared to $4.99 in fiscal 2012.
"Once again, the strength of our diversified business model was evident this quarter," Papa said. "Our consumer healthcare manufacturing operations are producing higher volumes and are operating more efficiently than at any time in our history. We expect further growth in store brand market penetration and strong new product launches, resulting in significant savings to consumers with quality, affordable healthcare products."
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