"Charles River Laboratories to acquire WIL Research" by Robert Weisman Globe staff January 07, 2016
Charles River Laboratories International Inc. said Thursday it will pay $585 million in cash to acquire WIL Research Laboratories LLC, a deal that will expand its reach in Europe and provide a toehold in contract manufacturing for biopharmaceutical companies.
Shares of Charles River climbed $2.19 to $79.59 on the New York Stock Exchange, gaining 2.8 percent even as the broader financial markets tumbled Thursday. Analysts, too, focused on the potential for growth in contract manufacturing, a field dominated by giant players such as Catalent Pharma Solutions of Somerset, N.J., and Pantheon Inc. of Durham, N.C.
Charles River, which has about 8,000 employees worldwide, generates annual revenue of about $1.3 billion. It has acquired dozens of mostly smaller companies, including six in the past two years, as its customers have moved to farm out more services. The largest deal was its $1.5 billion buyout of Inveresk Research Group of Cary, N.C., in 2004.....
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