The firm said the deal is complementary to existing capabilities in reference standards, proficiency testing and sports supplements supply chain assurance.
BRC Global Standards was developed as a division of the British Retail Consortium (BRC) which remains a minority shareholder with a seat on the board.
Grow existing presence and target new markets
The deal will help grow existing presence in the UK, India and US; widen consumer and brand protection to include health and safety, predictive analytics and ethical trading; and planned investment in IT to enable real time business intelligence for supply chains.
The same management team will lead the London-based provider of safety and quality standard programmes for food and non-food manufacture, packaging, storage and distribution.
Mark Proctor, CEO of BRC Global Standards, said LGC has an international presence to support growth plans and a customer base which will benefit from its services.
“This investment will also enable us to save more lives by expanding our product offering and cementing our position as a recognised global leader in consumer and brand protection solutions.”
KKR bought LGC from Bridgepoint in late 2015 with a ‘particular focus’ on the US and Asia thanks to investment by the KKR European Fund IV.
LGC acquired o2si smart solutions, a manufacturer of organic and inorganic reference materials, earlier this month and added it to the Standards Division.
The firm said it expanded the portfolio of reference materials for the food and environment markets.
It bought acquired Prime Synthesis, Inc. (PSI), a producer of Controlled Pore Glass (CPG) supports for oligonucleotide synthesis just last week.
PSI’s products are supplied to the pharma and biopharma, academic research, CMOs, medical diagnostics and biochemical reagents markets.
Ongoing transition
Euan O’Sullivan, managing director of LGC’s Standards Division, said there would be a continued focus on international business.
“BRC Global Standards is a globally recognised and respected brand and its capabilities are highly complementary to LGC’s existing strengths across reference standards, proficiency testing and sports supplements supply chain assurance.”
LGC said the acquisition marks the ‘next stage’ in BRC Global Standards’ transition from being a standards owner to a brand and consumer protection organisation.
Compliance with BRC Global Standards is often a requirement of retailers, manufacturers and quick service restaurants.
Standards are used by over 25,000 certificated suppliers in 123 countries, with certification issued through a network of accredited bodies.
LGC produces reference materials at its headquarters in Teddington, England and manufacturing facilities in the US (Manchester, New Hampshire and Cumberland Foreside, Maine) and Germany (Luckenwalde and Augsburg).
It employs over 2,500 people, operating out of 22 countries and was privatised in 1996.