Venn Life Sciences (AIM: VENN), a growing Clinical Research Organisation (CRO) providing clinical trial management and resourcing solutions to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device clients, announces that it has signed a conditional agreement for the acquisition of the trade and certain business assets and liabilities of CRM Clinical Trials GmbH ("CRM"), a German based CRO, for a total consideration of €0.6m.
During 2014 the CRM business is expected to generate revenues of around €1.5m (2013: €1.2m) and to contribute a profit before tax of circa €250,000 (2013: €200,000).
The consideration will be satisfied by a payment of €0.6m in shares on completion, based on the averageprice of Venn shares during the preceding 5 days prior to completion. Completion of this acquisition is conditional upon the consent of certain key clients to the transfer of their contracts with the seller. In addition, the allotment of the consideration shares will be conditional on them being admitted to trading on AIM.
The acquisition of CRM Clinical Trials GmbH expands Venn's geographical footprint across multiple sites in Europe and establishes a presence in one of Europe's most significant regions for clinical trials. Founded in 1996 CRM is a full service CRO based in Rheinbach, Germany. CRM specialises in dermatology, pneumology, urology and sports medicine, and in addition to the German market, CRM also serves the Austrian and Italian markets, having developed excellent relationships with some of the world's leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies. For further information please visit www.crm-ct.de/en/index.html.
Commenting on the acquisition, Tony Richardson, CEO of Venn, said: "We are delighted to welcome the CRM team to Venn. This acquisition is a significant step in the right direction for Venn and our strategy of becoming a key player in the European clinical research market. With Germany the leading country in Europe for conducting clinical trials, our presence there enhances both our ability to conduct multi centre trials and our core therapeutic experience. The Board expects to make further announcements regarding acquisitions in the near future."