Animalcare Group PLC on Tuesday said it had entered into a conditional agreement to acquire Randlab Australia Pty Ltd for around £62.2 million in part using proceeds from fundraising announced today.

Animalcare is a York, England-based supplier of veterinary pharmaceutical products. It said Randlab is an Australian-based equine veterinary business.

The acquisition will be funded through Animalcare’s existing cash resources, committed debt facilities and a new equity placing through an accelerated bookbuild process launched on Tuesday.

Animalcare raised £20 million before expenses through an oversubscribed placing and subscription. The company placed around 8.6 million shares at a price of 232.50 pence per placing share.

The share price represents a discount of 5.1% to Monday’s last closing price of 245.00 pence.

The company said its largest shareholder, Alychlo NV, participated for 10% of the fundraise.

Animalcare said it expects the acquisition to be materially earnings accretive, by at least 20% in financial 2025.

Chief Executive Jenny Winter said: ‘We are delighted to have reached an agreement to acquire Randlab subject to completion of the transaction. This is a highly attractive opportunity to acquire a market-leading equine asset in Australia that is expected to deliver significant earnings accretion in 2025.

‘This is a transformational deal that provides an excellent fit with our growth strategy and is complementary to our product portfolio...Not only will this acquisition significantly elevate the group’s offering in a growing equine market, it will also open wider opportunities in a commercially and regulatorily aligned business environment,’ she said.

On the fundraise, Winter said: ‘We are delighted to announce today’s successful fundraise of £20 million...The net proceeds of the fundraise will be used to part fund the acquisition of Randlab - a transformational deal that provides an excellent fit with our growth strategy and is complementary to our product portfolio.’

Shares in Animalcare were down 0.7% to 243.25 pence in London on Tuesday afternoon.

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