Chr Hansen A/S : . Hansen acquires HSO Health Care to grow probiotics offering for women’s health

Press Release | Apr 20. 2020 17:47 GMT

The acquisition of HSO Health Care GmbH cements Chr. Hansen's long-term commitment to its probiotics business, and the fast-growing category for women's health, where scientifically proven probiotic solutions are becoming increasingly popular among consumers

Chr. Hansen Holding A/S and HSO Health Care GmbH today entered into an agreement, under which Chr. Hansen will acquire HSO Health Care. The acquisition of the Austria-based B2B company specializing in probiotics for women's health will strengthen and expand Chr. Hansen's global microbial platform. This acquisition is aligned with the strategy of pursuing bolt-on acquisitions that fit into the microbial platform, as outlined in the Nature's no. 1 strategy. The transaction will be finalized later this week.

Mauricio Graber, CEO of Chr. Hansen, said: 'I am excited that we have reached an agreement with HSO Health Care, which has demonstrated very fast growth through a globally recognized portfolio that complements our own UREX™ products nicely. Women's health is a high-growth segment where innovation is becoming increasingly important, and with the addition of the Astarte™ portfolio we will be able to deliver innovation to a much larger market more quickly.'

Helmut Essl, CEO of HSO Health Care GmbH, said: 'HSO Health Care has been working from a mindset of scientifically documented, natural products since our inception, and we are delighted that with the addition of the Astarte™ products to Chr. Hansen, we can make an even greater impact on a global scale. I am very excited that Chr. Hansen will now bring Astarte™ to the next level.'

A scientific approach to common urogenital discomforts
Urogenital discomfort is a concern for women all over the world who are increasingly looking for intimate care products based on natural ingredients. This has driven the category for women's health to be among the fastest-growing in the probiotics market. Mauricio Graber concludes; 'Chr. Hansen is committed to keep unleashing the Power of Good Bacteria™, and I am proud that we will now strengthen our offering of probiotic concepts for women that can help to enable a balanced female microbiota, ultimately contributing to their well-being and quality of life.'

Highlights

• Women's health is one of the fastest growing probiotic segments, with an estimated market CAGR of more than 15% since 2015, which HSO has outperformed substantially
• Good fit to Chr. Hansen with easy integration and strong potential synergies
• Strengthens and expands Chr. Hansen's microbial platform by adding HSO's branded portfolio Astarte™, a global award-winning line of patented probiotic products for women's health
• Clinically documented and using four specific strains, Astarte™ has a powerful selling proposition and a strong brand position and is sold in multiple channels
• Strengthens our women's health offering by combining Astarte™ with Chr. Hansen's UREX™ products, creating a portfolio that can be leveraged globally and expanded into new adjacencies within women's health
• Expected 2020 revenues of approximately EUR 15 million, with an EBITDA margin above 40%. Strong double-digit organic growth expected from 2020-2025
• Chr. Hansen's outlook for 2019/20 is unchanged

Financial implications and outlook
The acquisition is fully aligned with Chr. Hansen's capital allocation principles, and does not impact the ability pay out an ordinary dividend of 40-60% of net profit. The purchase price will be financed from existing available cash and bank facilities, and the acquisition has no impact on the 2019/20 outlook. Under the terms of the agreement the details of the transaction will not be disclosed.

For further information please contact
Camilla Lercke, Head of External Communications, Tel: [phone] / [e-mail]

Chr. Hansen is a leading, global bioscience company that develops natural solutions for the food, nutritional, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. We develop and produce cultures, enzymes, probiotics and natural colors for a rich variety of foods, confectionery, beverages, dietary supplements, animal feed, and plant protection. Our product innovation is based on around 40,000 microbial strains - we like to refer to them as 'good bacteria'. Our solutions enable food manufacturers to produce more with less - while also reducing the use of chemicals and other synthetic additives - which makes our products highly relevant in today's world. Sustainability is an integral part of Chr. Hansen's vision to improve food and health. In 2019 Chr. Hansen was ranked as the world's most sustainable company by Corporate Knights thanks to our strong sustainability efforts and our many collaborative partnerships with our customers. We have been delivering value to our partners - and, ultimately, end consumers worldwide - for over 145 years. We are proud that more than one billion people consume products containing our natural ingredients every day. Chr. Hansen was founded in 1874 and is listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen.