Kiwi drench maker sold to rural retailer
PGG Wrightson has paid $20 million for Auckland-based drench maker Nexan Group, bringing it fully in house after years of close co-operation via exclusive distributorship through Agritrade.
Stephan Guerin.
PGW CEO Stephan Guerin describes the move as strategic, ensuring Nexan products remain New Zealand made, with the interests in NZ farmers in mind.
Gary Harrison and Jon Petherick, who co-founded Nexan in 2011 with majority owner Doug Halligan, have now joined PGW and will continue key operational roles along with five other team members. Halligan retired from Nexan post-settlement.
Nexan currently has more than 40 parasiticides registered with the ACVM for use in NZ, which are marketed under three brands – Vetmed, Active+, and most recently, farma.
PGW says there are real advantages in keeping Nexan NZ-owned, which ensures the ongoing focus of the business will be to provide on farm solutions needed for local conditions.
“NZ is a relatively small market in international terms, and accordingly it is beneficial to have R&D capacity that is orientated towards providing solutions for the specific needs of the NZ farming environment,” says Julian Daly, PGW general manager corporate affairs.
“In recent times we have seen some large multinationals discontinuing their R&D operations in NZ citing the scale of our market and regulatory challenges as reasons for closing their local operations.
“Developments such as this make it even more important to ensure that R&D capacity is retained in NZ so that we have greater self-reliance.”
Anthelmintic resistance is a vulnerability for NZ and formulations need to be updated to overcome developing resistance, Daly adds.
“New parasitic variants are of concern and we are seeing increasingly that multinationals have not been prepared to invest in R&D to stay ahead of the variants.
“PGW considers that it is prudent and appropriate for NZ Inc to ensure that there is locally owned R&D capacity that will prioritise meeting the needs for NZ specific local animal health products.”
Asked if PGW plans to extend the Nexan portfolio to categories other than parasiticides, Daly says the product offering and range is expected to continue to grow under PGW ownership with the benefit of additional capital being available to the Nexan business.
“Over time, we would expect to see new range offering and further product development to meet the needs of our customers though it is too soon to be specific about those opportunities at this time and the regulatory environment for products pending registration also place constraints on us in that regard.”
Nexan co-founders Gary Harrison and Jon Petherick say they are proud of its contribution to NZ farming, and joining PGW allows it to build on that legacy with greater reach and capability.
“By keeping the Nexan brand and operations within the country, we are safeguarding local jobs, R&D, knowledge and capability, while further strengthening our ability to support on-farm productivity,” PGW CEO Stephen Geurin says.
“Nexan is a strong and respected name in our agricultural landscape.
“This acquisition is not just about growth; it is about ensuring NZ farmers have access to locally developed and produced products that drive profitability and sustainability on-farm.
“Nexan’s offering as an innovator aligns well with PGW’s strategic objective of being the leader in bringing technical know-how and expertise to the market to benefit NZ farmers and growers.”