Charles River Labs to buy majority stake in China's Vital River

USA-based Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) has entered into an agreement to acquire 75% ownership of Vital River, a leading commercial provider of research models and related services in China, for around $27 million, subject to certain closing adjustments.

Through this acquisition, Charles River will provide high-quality research models and associated services to the emerging China market for drug discovery and development. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013, subject to customary closing conditions, including Chinese regulatory approvals.

The transaction is expected to add more than 1% to 2013 total net sales on a full-year basis and be slightly accretive to 2013 earnings per share. When the acquisition is completed, Vital River will be majority owned and controlled by Charles River. The agreement provides an option for Charles River to acquire the remaining 25% of Vital River at a later date.