Cash injection shows ‘investor confidence in InVivo NSA's sustainable growth strategy’
The new financing round also includes CDC International Capital (FFC), part of state owned bank, CDC. Grain sector investment fund, Unigrains, and the IDIA unit of Crédit Agricole, have “renewed” their interest in InVivo NSA – those investors were shareholders in a previous agreement that expired in 2014.
The InVivo group remains the majority shareholder of InVivo NSA with 67% of share capital - Eurazeo has a 17% stake in the animal health and nutrition unit, while CDC has taken 5.3% of share capital.
The group said the funds generated demonstrate “investor confidence in InVivo NSA's sustainable growth strategy” with the cash injection helping it to build strategic partnerships and accelerate its international development.
Matthieu Leroy, InVivo NSA director of projects, information systems and communication as well as CEO advisor, said the capital injection project, taken together with the capacity to raise debt (leverage effect), would leave the firm with ample funds – in the region of €350 to €500m – to support its ambitious expansion plans in critical areas such as feed additives and premixes animal health.
The firm, he said, is also eyeing potential takeover targets in the lab analysis side of the business.
He told us that Indonesia and Brazil were markets of particular and 'immediate' interest in relation to InVivo NSA's short-term asset building plans.
Acquisition trail
The division has been quite active in terms of asset building in recent months.
Last September saw it acquire Swiss feed ingredients firm, Pancosma - a move the French animal nutrition group said would consolidate its position in the specialty feeds market.
“The Pancosma deal is the first of several in the pipeline as we are aiming to be in the top five specialty feed additive makers in the world. Compared to other feed markets, this segment is not that consolidated, so there are other acquisition targets available,” said Leroy back then.
The group bought out Brazilian animal nutrition producer, Total Alimentos in October last year to strengthen its position in pet food but also its foothold in the dairy and aqua feed segments in that market.
InVivo NSA has said previously that it is trying to leverage demand for animal protein in Latin America and that it had plans to expand both organically and externally in Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America.
Asian growth
Growth in Asia is also a priority.
Gonzalo Rodriguez, corporate marketing director at the French group told us in December. “The French market today represents 38% of our business but we have an ambitious growth plan for the next 10 years, which places the Asian market firmly on our radar screen in terms of expansion. We expect to grow organically there but, evidently, we will need to make acquisitions in this territory as well to meet our targets.”
