Hypor Finalizes Agreement to Acquire France Hybrides

Hypor, the pig breeding division of Hendrix Genetics, has concluded its acquisition of France Hybrides from Groupe Glon.

The acquisition of France Hybrides fits with Hypor’s strategy to having leading positions in significant pork production markets in the world. The combination of genetic resources with local market focus is also consistent with Hypor’s mission as “The World’s Local Breeder”.

Under terms of the agreement, France Hybrides, which is known worldwide as a leading breeder of pigs, will become legally part of Hendrix Genetics s.a.s. Distribution activities of France Hybrides products in France will continue through the current network including Groupe Glon / France Genes.

“The combination of Hypor and France Hybrides is an excellent fit. The strong gene pool and market position of France Hybrides as well as the extensive research work in place make this very attractive for our customers,” said Dave Libertini, Managing Director of Hypor.

Didier Goupil, Managing Director of France Hybrides agrees the acquisition brings new opportunities. "We are pleased to be joining Hypor and Hendrix Genetics. They recognize the value of our organization and will open new opportunities for our products throughout their global network. Our customers will see the benefits of this alliance and our employees will also feel at home with this company," he said.

Hypor is the pig breeding division of Hendrix Genetics. Headquartered in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, Hypor is a leading swine genetics company. With more than 300 employees and operations throughout the world, the company offers tailored breeding solutions to the global pork sector. Hypor was established in 1965 and has since made a number of growth acquisitions in pig breeding. Combining local knowledge, with a globally connected gene pool, Hypor is the “World’s Local Breeder”.

France Hybrides is the largest privately held swine genetics company in France. France Hybrides was founded in 1968 as the “Genetic Improvement Department” of Sanders and is a front runner in developing swine breeding stock and technical expertise for the pork meat industry. The company, headquartered in Saint Jean de Braye, near Orléans and with Pure Line farms throughout France, serves the world’s pork industry out of its operations in France, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, and Spain. France Hybrides employs more than 75 people.

Hendrix Genetics, is a global multi-species animal genetics company investing in technology, people and progress to deliver sustainable value to business partners, employees and society. Hendrix Genetics has 4 divisions: Institut de Sélection Animale (ISA), the layer breeding division; Hybrid the turkey breeding division; Hypor the pig breeding division and SFPA, the poultry distribution division. Hendrix Genetics has around 1000 employees with a further 500 working in joint ventures. This Hendrix Genetics team combines 46 nationalities in subsidiaries and offices in 23 countries around the world.

Groupe Glon is headquartered in Saint-Gérand, Brittany. Its activities are animal nutrition, agricultural supplies, genetics and animal health, food industry, services and expertise, with 3,700 employees and revenues (2006) of € 1,235M. It is owned by Glon Family (35%), Management (5%) and Sofiprotéol (60%).