Citoxlab and Charles River Laboratories entered today into exclusive discussions pursuant to an exclusive agreement for the acquisition of Citoxlab by Charles River Laboratories
February 13, 2019
Evreux, France, February 13, 2019
We are pleased to inform you that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE: CRL) and Citoxlab have entered today into exclusive discussions pursuant to an exclusivity agreement for the intended acquisition of Citoxlab by Charles River. The proposed transaction would be expected to close in the second quarter of 2019, subject to labor consultations and regulatory requirements.
Citoxlab has been a fast growing early-stage Contract Research Organization (CRO) over the last few years and has become a top CRO in the non-clinical research market. With 6 sites covering Europe (Evreux and Saint-Nazaire in France; Veszprem, Szeged and Budapest in Hungary; Copenhagen in Denmark) and 3 sites in North America (Laval and Boisbriand in Canada; Kansas-City in the USA), the company today employs more than 1500 staff and generated 155 million Euros of revenues in 2018.
This success story was only possible thanks to your continued support. My teams and I are sincerely grateful to you for this.
I believe that Charles River would be a wonderful home for Citoxlab and that becoming a member of the Charles River family, the worldwide leader of the CRO industry, would be both an achievement and recognition for our company and for everyone who works in it. After many years of strong growth, I am happy and excited that such a new era begins for Citoxlab.
We know that you value not only the quality of our work, but also the stability of the organization. We are pleased to inform you that Charles River sees Citoxlab as a strategic acquisition for them and that they greatly value what we would be bringing to the new organization. Citoxlab adds great scientific expertise, complementary capabilities, talented people, and access to growing end markets for Charles River, and the Citoxlab sites enhance Charles River’s global footprint.
At a time when the number of new drug candidates is increasing and when projects are more and more complex, we are convinced that the combination of the teams, the sharing of our respective best practices and the synergies between the services offered by Charles River and by Citoxlab would represent a real opportunity for you, our clients.
Our goal is to join our resources and continue our best efforts to meet your needs with the quality, flexibility and agility we know that you need and expect, and we will always be committed and enthusiastic to contribute to the development of your innovative and safe new products.
Our discussions with Charles River are ongoing and in the meantime the two companies will continue to operate as separate entities without any change. The business will continue as usual and you should continue to work with your usual Citoxlab contact.
Jean-François Le Bigot, PhD
President and Chief Executive Officer
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