Eurofins continues Asia Pacific build-up with the acquisition of Agrisearch Group in Australia and New Zealand

Eurofins Scientific (EUFI.PA), the global leader in food, environment and pharmaceutical product testing services, announces the acquisition of an 81% majority stake in Agrisearch Services, and its wholly owned subsidiaries Agrisearch Analytical and Agrivet Services. Agrisearch is the leading private contract agricultural and biological research organisation in Australia and New Zealand.

Founded in 1970, Agrisearch Services generated revenues in excess of AUD 10m in 2012, and employs 80 staff at 3 main facilities and 12 satellite laboratories strategically located across Australia and New Zealand. Agrisearch is a regional industry reference for agricultural and food analyses, and is the principal contract research organisation (CRO) in the region able to conduct residue studies according to the OECD Principles of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP). It is also a leading analytical laboratory involved in pesticide analysis in food and animal tissues with studies conducted according to ISO 17025.  With a comprehensive portfolio of analytical services, Agrisearch offers a one-stop-shop solution for agricultural analyses from the earliest glasshouse and field trials, through to regulatory support and eventual commercialisation.

The acquisition reinforces Eurofins' Pacific footprint following its entry into the region with the recent acquisition of mgt-LabMark in Australia and NZLabs and ELS in New Zealand. Furthermore, Agrisearch strengthens Eurofins' leading position in the global agroscience market. As the largest dedicated agrochemical CRO in the world, Eurofins Agroscience Services has 650 staff across 20 countries offering a complete range of services from global field studies through to physico-chemical property testing.

The strategy of Agrisearch as a one-stop-shop provider of analytical solutions will be further strengthened with access to the complete range of Eurofins' portfolio of technological know-how and services, whilst customers will benefit from the combined competencies and capabilities of the Group.

Comment from Gilles Martin, Eurofins CEO: "The acquisition of Agrisearch should allow Eurofins to accelerate its build-up in Asia Pacific, and reflects our commitment to further strengthen our footprint in the region and our global Agroscience services offering. Agrisearch is an excellent strategic fit to Eurofins' growing operations and we look forward to further strengthening their market position by offering the full range of capabilities of the Eurofins Group."

For more information, please visit www.eurofins.com or contact:

Notes for the editor:

Eurofins - a global leader in bio-analysis

Eurofins Scientific is the world leader in food and pharmaceutical products testing. It is also number one in the world in the field of environmental laboratory services and one of the global market leaders in agroscience, genomics, discovery pharmacology and central laboratory services.

With over 14,000 staff in more than 180 laboratories across 35 countries, Eurofins offers a portfolio of over 100,000 reliable analytical methods for evaluating the safety, identity, composition, authenticity, origin and purity of biological substances and products. The Group provides its customers with high-quality services, accurate results in time and expert advice by its highly qualified staff.

Eurofins is committed to pursuing its dynamic growth strategy by expanding both its technology portfolio and its geographic reach. Through R&D and acquisitions, the Group draws on the latest developments in the field of biotechnology and analytical chemistry to offer its clients unique analytical solutions and the most comprehensive range of testing methods.

As one of the most innovative and quality oriented international players in its industry, Eurofins is ideally positioned to support its clients' increasingly stringent quality and safety standards and the expanding demands of regulatory authorities around the world.

The shares of Eurofins Scientific are listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris Stock Exchange (ISIN FR0000038259, Reuters EUFI.PA, Bloomberg ERF FP).

Important disclaimer:

This press release contains forward-looking statements and estimates that involve risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements and estimates contained herein represent the judgement of Eurofins Scientific’ management as of the date of this release. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees for future performance, and the forward-looking events discussed in this release may not occur. Eurofins Scientific disclaims any intent or obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements and estimates. All statements and estimates are made based on the data available to the Company as of the date of publication, but no guarantee can be made as to their validity.