Grocers Gain a New Force in Food Safety

The food retailing world is gaining an innovative leader in food safety with a broad product range after 3M and Neogen decided to combine their businesses. 3M plans to separate its food safety business and simultaneously combine it with Neogen in a deal that values the combined entity at $9.3 billion.

“This combination will enhance Neogen’s position in this new era of food security, equipping us with an expanded product line that enables us to capitalize on our growing footprint, reaching more customers, more often, while continuing our track record of strong and consistent growth,” said Neogen CEO John Adent. “The heightened global focus on food security, sustainability and supply chain solutions around the world presents exciting opportunities for Neogen to be positioned as an innovative leader at the forefront of the growth and digitization of the industry.”

Benefits of the deal are said to include:

• Creation of an innovative organization poised to benefit from growing demand. Neogen’s pure play food security business, combined with the long-term tailwinds of increased global focus on sustainability, food safety and supply chain solutions, make Neogen the ideal home for 3M’s food safety business.
• Significant expansion of food safety product offerings, particularly in indicator testing and pathogen detection areas, which complement Neogen’s existing microbiology lines. Neogen will also offer 3M food safety customers its genomics services, including DNA testing, designed to protect the world’s food supply from the farm gate to the dinner plate.
• Growth beyond developed markets. There is heightened interest in developing nations in improving food safety, which the combined company will be better able to pursue.
• Enhanced R&D capabilities, innovation and analytics. The combined company will possess the breadth and digital capabilities to lead the digitization of the food security industry, according to the companies.
• Creation of a company with annual revenues of roughly $1 billion, of which the food safety segment will account for 70%.

“Neogen and 3M share a deep commitment to quality, innovation and customer satisfaction and long histories of industry leadership. By combining our food safety business with Neogen, we will create an organization well positioned to capture long-term profitable growth,” said Mike Roman, 3M chairman and CEO.