FOCUS Investment Banking Represents Devenish Nutrition Group in its sale to EASY BIO, Inc.
Devenish, founded in 1952 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, provides products and services to the global agricultural industry. Today, 90% of Devenish sales are derived from its own manufactured products. Devenish North America comprises five manufacturing facilities, four of which are located in the US and one in Mexico. Additionally, the company operates a further 10 research facilities in partnership with some key US customers.
EASY BIO, founded in 1988 and headquartered in South Korea, is a global leader in the animal nutrition business and has operations throughout Asia and North America. The company is committed to providing healthy food for animals and continues its push to be a global leader in the future of the sustainable animal industry.
Devenish Nutrition and EASY BIO will work together on an ongoing basis, as the business will continue to operate under the Devenish name and sell a range of the Group’s products under license. Devenish intends to apply the proceeds of the sale to redeem debt and to invest in its core activities in northwest Europe and other international markets.
“The Board of Devenish is pleased to announce its agreement to sell our North America business to EASY BIO,” commented Tony McEntee, Chief Executive of Devenish. “Following this disposal, the Group will have a sharper business focus and will capitalize on the sustainable growth potential presented by our operations and activities in Ireland, the UK, Europe, Asia and Africa. We have worked closely with EASY BIO for many years, and we look forward to continuing to collaborate in the coming years.”
“The acquisition of Devenish North America is part of our strategic growth plans for the North American market,” added Stevenson Hwang, Chief Executive of EASY BIO. “Devenish’s scientific and research-based approach to developing solutions, combined with excellent customer service is aligned with our business model and we look forward to continuing the strong growth achieved by the team in the coming years.”
“Devenish North America is headquartered in a small town in Minnesota and it is deeply rooted in the farming ecosystem it supports. As we went to market to find the right new partner, the business attracted broad buyer interest from around the globe. This interest and the company’s success is primarily due to the talented team of people, assembled and led by President Cory Penn,” stated Rick Thomas, FOCUS CEO.
“It has been a privilege to represent Devenish and watch this transaction unfold,” said Alan Kelly, Managing Director of FOCUS. “This was a well run collaborative transaction and we were thrilled to be able to achieve a strong result for our client. We look forward to the continued growth and success of both Devenish and EASY BIO.”
*These testimonials may not be representative of the experience of all clients; testimonials are not a guarantee of future performance or success.
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This transaction was previously announced on Feed Strategy eNews.
Prior to joining FOCUS, Rick served as Vice President at VSI, a boutique investment banking firm located in Washington, DC. He led M&A activities for publicly and privately held companies in the middle market, several of which have annual revenues in excess of $1 Billion. Rick’s clients were involved in a wide array of transactions; from acquisitions and divestitures to minority interests and strategic partnerships.
In addition to his experience with clients, Rick has lectured to hundreds of senior executives on M&A best practices and has been an adjunct faculty member for The George Washington University School of Business and Public Management. His M&A teachings focused on coaching companies and senior executives in how to build an acquisition team, create a winning strategy, identify and engage not-for-sale companies, streamline company valuation, perform value added due diligence and techniques for financial modeling. Rick has also served as a U.S. representative to South African companies in the capacity of advisor and consultant on business linkages, partnering and financing for small and medium businesses.
He holds an MBA in International Business and Finance from The George Washington University. He earned a BS in Engineering from Michigan State University. After completing an undergraduate program in engineering, Rick spent several years working as a manufacturing engineer and supervisor for General Motors. In this role he was responsible for the quality and productivity of manufacturing teams. In addition to being recognized as an outstanding team leader and team builder, Rick implemented a number of process improvements which enhanced product quality and efficiency at numerous GM production facilities.
