Novozymes acquires PrecisionBiotics Group

Seroba’s portfolio company, PrecisionBiotics Group has been acquired by Novozymes. Based in Cork, Ireland, PrecisionBiotics Group holds a leading position within probiotics for human gut health. Its products include the regular award-winning Alflorex for digestive health and Zenflore for stress reduction. Precision Biotics, which was a spin-out of UCC, has strong affiliations with the world-leading Alimentary Microbiome Ireland SFI Research Centre in Cork. Novozymes has acquired 100% of the equity of Precisions Biotics Group (PB) for an upfront amount of EUR 80 million on a cash and debt-free basis. There is also an additional performance-based earn-out. This acquisition gives Novozymes broader access to the overall consumer health market and, more specifically, a stronger entry point into the EUR 5 billion human probiotic supplements market which is expected to grow with a high-single-digit CAGR over the next 3-5 years.

Commenting on the acquisition, Peter Sandys, Managing Partner at Seroba, said “I am delighted for Barry and his team who have done a fantastic job in creating a global market for Alflorex and in expanding the product range with the exciting new Zenflore range. We invested in PB because we recognised the depth and quality of the science in the microbiome field. Then it was an emerging field, but today it is a hot area in biotech with billions of dollars invested in microbiome research. PB was a pioneer in the field and one of the first to translate ground-breaking gut-brain axis research into commercial products.” Ester Baiget, President and CEO of Novozymes, said “This acquisition fits well with our strategy, Better business with biology, where we have focus on human health as one of our opportunities for growth. With this investment, we take another important step in implementing the strategy and setting a foundation of growth for our business.”

Commenting on the announcement, Barry Kiely, CEO and co-founder of Precision Biotics Group, said “By becoming a part of Novozymes, we will get a global presence across businesses and new capabilities within science and discovery of new strains. This will help us to grow by developing new products where we can combine enzymes and probiotics.” When combined, enzymes and probiotics synergistically work hand-in-hand to address health benefits from different angles in more powerful ways. “Novozymes is a strong company based on science with a global market presence and a purpose to find biological solutions for better lives in a growing world. We look forward to speeding up the development of our pipeline and to a global roll-out of products to accelerate growth,” Barry Kiely added.