Global agricultural business AB Foods has completed the acquisition of dairy technology firm National Milk Records (NMR) for £48 million.
AB Foods, which operates in 80 countries, said that Chippenham-based NMR’s expertise in the dairy sector would help boost its business.
NMR provides management information and testing services to the UK dairy supply chain, developing technology used to inform farming efficiency and animal welfare, and quantify food provenance.
Milk samples are regularly collected from virtually every dairy farm in Great Britain, positioning NMR as highly respected within the dairy sector.
AB Foods, which works with 2,000 UK dairy farmers, added that such data and technology platforms would help farmers become more profitable.
The firm has agreed to pay 215p a share for NMR, with backing for the deal already from investors holding around 69% of shares, which is close to the 75% threshold needed to approve the deal.
Commenting on the acquisition, AB Agri CEO José Nobre said: “NMR is a high-quality business which is extremely complementary and additive to our dairy strategy and offering to the dairy industry.
“We have supported dairy farmers for more than 30 years with nutrition and specialty feed products, and more recently with data and technology platforms which deliver insights that create continuous improvement in agricultural supply chains.”
NMR finance director, Mark Frankcom, said the backing of AB Agri would "accelerate and de-risk NMR's ability to deliver its strategic objectives".
He added: “AB Agri's status within the UK agricultural sector and expertise in the dairy industry will provide a significant benefit to NMR's customers.
“As the UK dairy supply chain continues its drive to carbon neutrality, NMR's work with GenoCells and milk data, and our pivotal role in payment testing, will contribute important information to aid in this transition.
“The backing of AB Agri will streamline industry processes by creating a holistic business that can provide end-to-end data and analysis to ensure the long-term sustainability, efficiency and profitability of UK dairy.”
