ABGSC acted as financial advisor to Benchmark Holdings in the sale of Fish Vet Group to Pharmaq, part of the global animal health company Zoetis

On Wednesday 1 July 2020 Benchmark Holdings, the aquaculture genetics, health and advanced nutrition company, announced the sale of its diagnostics and consultancy business Fish Vet Group to Pharmaq, the global leader in fish health and vaccines owned by Zoetis for an enterprise value of GBP ~15m.
Fish Vet Group is headquartered in Inverness, Scotland, with diagnostic lab locations there as well as in Norway, Ireland and Chile, where it provides veterinary services and services in bacteriology, histology and PCR testing. To help fish producers comply with strict environmental standards, Fish Vet Group offers surveys and analysis to monitor potential environmental impact and inform responsible fish disease treatments as part of a sustainable aquaculture system. Tests and accompanying analyses from Fish Vet Group help producers to check the impact of existing fish farms and inform the potential for new site locations, determine and monitor seabed conditions, and provide input to required regulatory submissions. Comprehensive lab analysis includes marine and freshwater benthic taxonomy, sediment chemistry and water quality analysis.
The transaction is another significant step in Benchmark’s strategy to exit non-core areas and focus on its key disciplines in the global aquaculture markets. Fish Vet Group is a strategic addition to Pharmaq which develops and commercialises fish vaccines and offers services in vaccination and diagnostics for aquaculture. Adding Fish Vet Group grows the geographic reach and enhances the diagnostics expertise and testing services, including environmental testing, that Pharmaq’s reference lab Pharmaq Analytiq now can offer fish farmers in major aquaculture markets.