Aviagen Acquires British United Turkeys from Merial - US - Aviagen and Merial Ltd are pleased to announce that Aviagen has completed the purchase of Merial's subsidiary British United Turkeys (B.U.T.), one of the world's leading turkey breeding companies. The transaction, concluded on August 26th, took the form of a sale of shares of B.U.T. Ltd. (UK) and B.U.T. (France).

Fllowing several years of investment in the Nicholas brand in research and facilities in North America, Aviagen has made the strategic move into the European market. B.U.T. is the European market leader in turkey breeding with complementary products to the Nicholas genetic lines. Aviagen will now offer more choice to customers and provide the industry with accelerated genetic progress.

The newly created group, Aviagen Turkeys, will be led by Ian Hamilton, Aviagen Group Vice President. Ian Hamilton stated, "We are delighted to welcome B.U.T. to the Aviagen Group as a major addition to our poultry breeding activities. The combination of B.U.T.'s skills in poultry breeding along with Aviagen's technologies and complementary expertise in genetic selection will enable us to meet the current and future needs of the turkey industry."

The newly created group positions itself as the unrivalled leader in turkey breeding with 350 employees and operations in the Americas and Europe. The company will be the only turkey breeder with pedigree operations on two continents. Through Aviagen Turkeys, Aviagen will establish a diversified turkey breeding team pledged to enhance the genetic progress for the global market.

B.U.T. Managing Director, Martin Shea stated, "The rich tradition and innovation of B.U.T. over the past 40 years will be enhanced by the combination with Nicholas. This is a perfect fit. Our progress under the guidance of Aviagen will be accelerated and offer significant benefits to our dedicated customers and employees. Aviagen provides us with the resources to upgrade our production base near Chester, UK plus provide a new/modern hatchery facility."

"The purchase of B.U.T is a natural progression of our strategy to be the leading provider of poultry genetics. It follows upon our 2004 actions that strengthened Aviagen's Nicholas Turkeys operating base and increased North American sales," said Aviagen Chief Executive Officer Ian Panton. "Our expanded presence in turkey breeding promises considerable strategic benefits across Aviagen and demonstrates our team's long-term commitment to the poultry industry. The ability to share leading poultry breeding technology and animal husbandry practices among our companies will increase the rate of progress achieved by the poultry industry. Aviagen's position as the most trusted and capable supplier of poultry breeding stock in the world will only be strengthened by this purchase, and our focus on continuous improvement and building long-term value for our customers will remain unchanged."

Source: Aviagen - 30th August 2005