Animal health distributor Bimeda has acquired veterinary pharmaceutical company Afrivet, meaning the company now has the largest footprint of any animal health company in Africa.
Afrivet Southern Africa Propiertary Ltd., which was based in Pretoria, had annual revenues of more than €25 million. As well as its base, it ran operating divisions in Zambia and Mozambique which have also been acquired.
Meanwhile, Bimeda has built a long-established presence across the African continent over the past 40 years. Currently headquartered in Kenya, the company will integrate Afrivet into its Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) division, which has subsidiaries in Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia.
The investment is the latest in a series of expansion measures undertaken by Bimeda in recent years, which has seen the company break into new countries and sectors.
Over the past five years, Bimeda has expanded within Europe, through the establishment of a global innovation centre in Ireland and a greenfield organisation in Denmark.
Further afield, it has entered the aquaculture and vaccine sectors via acquisitions in the US and the construction of an injectable facility in China.
Afrivet was founded in 2000 by Dr. Peter Oberem who aimed to establish a business that would provide for Southern African farmers and animal owners. Speaking about the acquisition of his company, he said:
“Independent surveys show that Afrivet is highly respected as a leading animal health brand in the region. This acquisition will greatly strengthen the company’s product and service offering, to the benefit of all stock and pet owners.
“I have known Bimeda for more than 32 years and always admired how similar their and our business philosophies are. I am truly excited about the future of our company.”
Commenting on the acquisition, Bimeda’s AMEA CEO, Ronan Smith said there has been similar admiration of Afrivet for many years.
“The Afrivet business, which offers both an extensive product portfolio and technical service offerings.
“After a long-established presence as the largest animal health company in East Africa, the acquisition will result in Bimeda having the largest footprint of any animal health company on the entire continent,” he concluded.
