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Challenges
- Laboratoires Lehning based in France specialises in natural healthcare solutions for human and animal wellness.
- Already succeeding worldwide through subsidiaries and partnerships, Laboratoires Lehning set its sights on Brazil to further its expansion efforts in the Americas and to strengthen their offering to the growing market of natural healthcare solutions for livestock.
- Brazil is the second-largest beef producer in the world, with the U.S. being the largest. Due to public health concerns about the consequences of the use of antibiotics in livestock production, the market of natural substitutes is projected to grow in the coming years.
- Brazil can provide sourcing of high-quality raw ingredients due to the country’s biodiversity.
- To determine the best entry-point into the Brazilian market, the company looked to Altios due to their expertise in mergers and acquisitions.
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Solutions
- Altios conducted a strategic analysis to determine the best investment direction for the company.
- “An M&A was ultimately the best strategy to meet Laboratoires Lehning’s goals,” said Didier Koch, Managing Director of Altios Brazil. “The strong alignment in values and culture not only made sense for a merger, but allowed Lehning to reach its goals faster by acquiring an experienced team, efficient manufacturing plants, an established customer base, and access to the extraordinary biodiversity of the Brazilian Amazon,” added Koch.
- Laboratoires Lehning and Altios began negotiations with Apis Flora. Founded in 1982, Apis Flora specialises in healthcare products for humans and animals based on propolis, honey and medicinal plant extracts.
- The acquisition provided Laboratoires Lehning access to Apis Flora’s three high-performance production facilities in Brazil, and the company’s innovative savoir-faire in honeybee-based products.
- To ensure a smooth transition for both companies, Altios provided support during the negotiations and the post-acquisition phase of the agreement.
- Maintaining employee support and goodwill were extremely important to Laboratoires Lehning during the negotiation phase. “Altios’ knowledge of the local culture helped us determine what was most important to the founders and employees of Apis Flora.
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Results
- Once the acquisition was completed, talent retention was a critically vital part of the acquisition’s success.
- To further ensure success, Altios provided post-acquisition integration support services. This support included being the critical link between the Brazilian company and Laboratoires Lehning’s headquarters in France.
- To ensure a smooth transition, Altios’ managing director of its office in Brazil co-managed the newly acquired entity to bridge the management teams of the parent company and Apis Flora.
- Throughout the acquisition process, maintaining a dialogue which respected the cultural differences was essential and was one of the defining factors to the successful merger. “We learned the importance of team spirit and of working together for Brazilians. By being attentive to these important concerns, we were able to gain their trust,” continued Lehning.
- The successful acquisition has provided to both entities a stronger global presence and expanded the market reach of their respective products.
Our collaboration with Lehning has recently been extended to Business Development in the United States with its subsidiary Phytosynthèse.
Learn more about Lehning: https://www.lehning.com
