M&A Activity • Feb 23, 2012
M&A Activity
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Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, February 23, 2012 – Bureau Veritas is pleased to announce two acquisitions in fast-growing market segments and geographies, totaling €66 million in annual revenue.
Frank Piedelièvre, Bureau Veritas' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated:
"These new targeted acquisitions are part of the growth initiatives underway to implement the Group's 2015 strategic plan that focuses on further densifying our worldwide network and extending our service offering in highly attractive market segments.
AcmeLabs ideally complements the technical capabilities of Bureau Veritas' Commodities business, while significantly strengthening our market position in Canada. With HuaXia, we now have licenses to operate in the promising Chinese construction market.
We look forward to integrating these remarkable companies into the Bureau Veritas Group and to welcoming their 1,300 employees and managers who boast strong expertise and market recognition in their respective fields."
Bureau Veritas has acquired AcmeLabs, the no. 3 player in upstream minerals testing in Canada. With this acquisition, Bureau Veritas now has a stronger business position in Canada, a market offering high growth potential, and has expanded its global position in Metals & Minerals (M&M) with a full presence in key global mining hubs in Australia, Canada and South Africa.
Founded in 1971 and headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, AcmeLabs provides sampling preparation, assaying and geo-analytical services. The company operates a total of 29 testing and sample preparation laboratories in 12 countries, mainly in North and South America and has 978 employees. AcmeLabs uses cutting-edge technologies such as Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP), ICP-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF). AcmeLab's revenue for the fiscal year ending March 2012 is estimated to be around €55 million (CAD\$72 million).
Bureau Veritas and AcmeLabs have highly complementary activities and locations in services related to Metals and Minerals. This acquisition enables the Group to create a Minerals center of expertise in Canada, one of the largest producing countries, and to enhance Bureau Veritas' minerals footprint in South America. In addition, synergies are expected from improved operating efficiency, notably through network optimization and the leverage of the 'hub & spoke' operations model of AcmeLabs, and through the development of both Bureau Veritas and AcmeLabs's key accounts with our combined networks and set of capabilities.
Bureau Veritas has entered into a Share Purchase Agreement to acquire 70% of the shares of Beijing Huaxia Supervision Co. ("HuaXia"), a Chinese private company, thereby enabling Bureau Veritas to enter the Chinese construction technical supervision market with the required licenses.
Formed in 1993, HuaXia is specialized in technical control and construction supervision of petrochemical plants, buildings, municipal projects and electrical power plants. The company possesses key supervision licenses granted by the Chinese authorities. It is notably the market leader in petrochemical plants construction supervision in China.
Based in Beijing, HuaXia has 350 employees boasting a strong reputation and significant experience, and operating in a dozen of provinces and municipalities in China. HuaXia's revenue for 2011 was around €11 million (RMB 90 million).
This acquisition enables Bureau Veritas to enter different segments of the Chinese construction market and expands Bureau Veritas' portfolio of services offered to its current clients in China.
The Group's headcount in mainland China stands at more than 6,300 employees.
Bureau Veritas is a world leader in conformity assessment and certification services. Created in 1828, the Group has more than 52,000 employees in 940 offices and 340 laboratories located in 140 countries. Bureau Veritas helps its clients to improve their performances by offering services and innovative solutions in order to ensure that their assets, products, infrastructure and processes meet standards and regulations in terms of quality, health and safety, environmental protection and social responsibility.
Bureau Veritas is listed on the Euronext Paris and belongs to the Next 20 (Compartment A, code ISIN FR 0006174348, stock symbol: BVI). www.bureauveritas.com
Claire Plais: +33 (0)1 55 24 76 09 [email protected]
Véronique Gielec: +33 (0)1 55 24 76 01 [email protected]
TBWA\Corporate: Anne-Laure Bellon: +33 (0)1 49 09 27 93 [email protected]
Magali Preud'homme: +33 (0)1 49 09 27 92 [email protected]
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