The bio-economy company BRAIN AG has announced a share purchase agreement with Biocatalysts Ltd based in Cardiff, UK, which is active in the field of speciality enzymes.

For over 35 years, Biocatalysts (and more recently Biocatalysts Inc, USA) has focused on the development, production and distribution of speciality enzymes for various industries such as food and fine chemicals. BRAIN is a leading technology company in the field of industrial biotechnology, developing microorganisms, natural substances and enzymes for the industrial use. The strategic acquisition of a majority stake in Biocatalysts is intended to accelerate product driven growth in the fast growing speciality enzyme market and broaden the portfolio of the enzyme business of BRAIN. This synergy, with respect to research and development as well as production and global distribution will hugely benefit both companies and their customers. After the completion of the transaction, Biocatalysts Ltd. will continue to operate under the current company name.

Biocatalysts Ltd. is profitable and generated revenues of approximately €9.03 million (£7.978 million) in the 2015/2016 financial year.  The strategic partnership between BRAIN and Biocatalysts will widen the commercial opportunities based on a strong complementary product portfolio and a perfect technology fit.

Dr Jürgen Eck, CEO of BRAIN AG, commented: “The new strategic partnership with Biocatalysts is aimed at accelerating product development, production and marketing of innovations in a growing bioeconomy which includes the field of speciality enzymes. Biocatalysts is one of the leading players in this field with proven production expertise as well as access to global markets. Together we can fuel our complementary enzyme businesses, increase growth margins and strengthen BRAIN Group’s BioIndustrial segment which aims at marketing own product candidates.”

Frank Goebel, CFO of BRAIN AG, commented: “BRAIN has taken a number of strategic steps in recent months to grow its future business. Few weeks ago we founded our US subsidiary BRAIN LLC to internationalize our business operations and improve customer relations in the US. Direct market access and flexible production capacities are also of great importance. Therefore, we have taken a new milestone in our M&A strategy for strengthening our product-driven business segment BioIndustrial. Biocatalysts is a perfect partner to accelerate the work from labs to products and participate in the growth of the speciality enzyme markets.”