Eurofins subsidiary acquires 9% stake in Cerep

Eurofins Scientific and Mr. Thierry Jean, CEO and founder of Cerep, one of the leading providers of in vitro pharmacology and ADME-toxicity testing, have agreed on the acquisition by a Eurofins subsidiary, at the price of EUR 2 per share, of a block of 1,069,732 shares belonging to Mr. Jean, representing 8.48% of the capital of Cerep.

Given Cerep's current ownership structure, the stake to be indirectly acquired by Eurofins represents the largest shareholding in the company. Furthermore, with the Board of Directors of Cerep's approval, the acquiring Eurofins subsidiary has filed with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) a tender offer for the remaining capital of Cerep.

Pending a conformity decision from the AMF, the tender offer, which is still under the AMF's review, aims to buy the shares of existing Cerep shareholders at the proposed purchase price of EUR 2 per share, in line with the price paid for Mr. Thierry Jean's stake.

The tender offer price implies an equity valuation of EUR 25.2m, representing a premium of 80.7% to the 1-month average price and 79.9% compared to the 12-month average as of 19 December 2012.

Banque Palatine has been selected as the Presenting Bank for the tender offer. Further technical details of the transaction, including the offer schedule, will be provided via a press release as they become available.

This transaction would reinforce the presence of Eurofins in the discovery pharmacology market following its acquisition of Pan Labs in the US in September 2012. If the tie-up were to be confirmed, Mr. Thierry Jean, Cerep CEO, would further develop the business in close partnership with Eurofins.