Apiam Animal Health Limited (ASX:AHX) Acquisition of Hunter Equine Centre

Bendigo, Australia, Dec 1, 2022 - (ABN Newswire) - Apiam Animal Health Limited (ASX:AHX) is pleased to announce the acquisition of Hunter Equine Centre Pty Ltd (Hunter Equine Centre (HEC), the Acquisition), a dedicated equine veterinary business located in the Upper Hunter Valley region of NSW.

Hunter Equine Centre operates a well-established equine clinic with ambulatory and hospital-based care supported by a high performance equine veterinary team. It predominantly services the Scone and Upper Hunter Local Government Area (LGA), Australia's largest and most internationally renowned equine region.

The consideration for the Acquisition is $6.5 million and it is expected to add $6.0 million in revenue to Apiam on a FY23 pro-forma basis. The clinic has a strong record of performance having delivered 45% average annual revenue growth over the past 3-years.

Dr Chris Richards, Apiam's Managing Director said "this is Apiam's fourth high performance equine acquisition in the past 18 months. Hunter Equine Centre, in combination with our other specialist equine clinic and referral centres, such as Agnes Banks (NSW) and Scenic Rim (QLD) will offer the opportunity to leverage our highly specialised equine staff, professional development pathways and industry knowledge. This also aligns with Apiam's equine strategy to operate high performance clinics in key operating regions for our Australian equine clients".

The Acquisition also continues Apiam's Accelerated Growth strategy to increase pro-forma revenues to more than $300 million by the end of FY24, and to deliver earnings leverage once integrated into Apiam's network.

Hunter Equine Centre & Apiam equine strategy

Hunter Equine Centre operates from a new, state-of-the-art hospital including a purpose-built surgery, intensive care unit, hospital boarding, diagnostic imaging services and dedicated in-house laboratory, providing full service to equine clients. Clients come from the domestic, pleasure and racehorse industries.

Hunter Equine Centre currently employs 23 staff (16.1 FTE), including eight FTE veterinary staff, with broad levels of knowledge, experience and expertise.

Apiam implemented a dedicated equine veterinary strategy early in FY22 and since this time has acquired three cornerstone specialist and referral equine clinics - including The Victorian Equine Group (VIC), Scenic Rim Vets (QLD) and Agnes Banks Equine Clinic in NSW (located approximately 250KM south of the Upper Hunter LGA).

Due to the specialised nature of the veterinary equine industry and the level of service increasingly demanded by a growing number of clients, Apiam see significant opportunities arising from the skillsets of Hunter Equine Centre's highly specialised workforce, their medical and systems expertise as well as professional development pathways.

Upper Hunter Valley Equine Industry

The Upper Hunter Local Government Area (LGA) of NSW is an internationally acclaimed and mature thoroughbred breeding region and is considered amongst the leading international centres of thoroughbred breeding excellence. The region is ranked second only to Kentucky, USA in terms of the concentration of thoroughbred stud properties as well as the quality and number of bloodlines (Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders Association, 2012).

The Upper Hunter Local Government LGA is additionally renowned as the Horse Capital of Australia, with extensive horse ownership. The Upper Hunter region produces, trains and spells a wide range of equine breeds including heavy draught horses, horses for carriage work, endurance and other sports such as polo and polocrosse, dressage, racing and recreational use. The region also supports nationally recognised specialist equine training, racing, medical and research facilities.

Key acquisition terms

Settlement of the Acquisition is expected to occur in December 2022 with the Acquisition consideration to be paid as $6.0 million in cash and $0.5 million in Apiam scrip.

Shares issued to the vendors of Hunter Equine Clinic will be subject to a minimum escrow period of 12-months, with 50% subject to an escrow period of 24-months.

Key personnel have entered into employment agreements with Apiam and are committed to contributing to the future growth performance of the Company.

About Apiam Animal Health Limited:

Apiam Animal Health Limited (ASX:AHX) is comprised of Australia's leading Production Animal and Mixed Animal veterinary practices.

Apiam Animal Health incorporates over 150 highly experienced, industry leading veterinarians with expertise across the pig, dairy, feedlot, sheep, poultry, equine, and companion animal sectors, supported by an experienced administration, nursing, technical services and ancillary team.

Apiam Animal Health is fully vertically integrated, including having veterinary wholesale, diagnostics laboratories, custom vaccines, logistics, and other ancillary services.

Contact:

Dr Chris Richards
Managing Director
Apiam Animal Health Limited
E: [e-mail]

Catherine Ross
Investor Relations
E: [e-mail]
T: 0421 997 481

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