Mesa Laboratories Acquires Its French Distributor

Lakewood, Colo.-based Mesa Laboratories Inc. plans to acquire a distributor for its biological indicator (BI) products, French company Amilabo SAS. Mesa will acquire all outstanding shares of Amilabo.
The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

Biological indicators are used to assess the effectiveness of sterilization processes, including steam, gas (such as ethylene oxide or chlorine dioxide), hydrogen peroxide and radiation, in the hospital, dental, medical device and pharmaceutical industries. Amilabo has been a distributor of Mesa’s BI products for nearly fifteen years, selling primarily to the pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing markets in France, Belgium and parts of Switzerland. Amilabo is one of Mesa’s largest BI distributors in Europe, providing sales, technical support and logistics from its office just outside of Lyon, France. Mesa will continue to operate from this office, which is Mesa’s first outside the United States, using the existing Amilabo personnel and processes.

“We are continually evaluating our product distribution strategy at Mesa,” said John J. Sullivan, president and CEO of Mesa. “Even though we currently have some sales directly to customers outside the United States, the vast majority of international sales are through our network of distributors. While we don’t anticipate that the revenues and net income generated from the Amilabo acquisition will be material, they will boost gross margins and provide Mesa with the opportunity to engage with its customers in Amilabo’s territories more easily. The purchase of Amilabo does not represent the beginning of a new strategy to only sell directly to international customers and eliminate our distributor model. Instead, we will continue to evaluate products and territories on a case-by-case basis for opportunities where sales volume, local culture and growth opportunities lends itself to the establishment of a direct Mesa presence. I look forward to working with the Amilabo team in the years ahead as we develop and grow Mesa’s first international office.”

“We are pleased to join Mesa and become its first entity outside the U.S. This acquisition will sustain and further improve the quality of the services we are able to provide to our customers. Additionally, we are also delighted that this acquisition offers opportunities for our employees,” said Bernard Cabrera, President and CEO of Amilabo.

Mesa’s stated focus is primarily on quality control products sold into niche markets that are driven by regulatory requirements.