Oxford Acquires Scandinavian Distributor
Link Analytical AB also distributes products from Gatan and Agar Scientific. Although a small acquisition, it will give Oxford Instruments greater insight into end-user preferences and needs, particularly for nanotechnology, as well as expand the company’s presence in Northern Europe.
Abingdon, UK 5/28/08—Oxford Instruments has acquired Link Analytical AB from its owner and manager, Anna Otterstrom, for an initial cash payment of £0.6 million ($1.2 million) and a cash earn-out of up to £0.6 million payable over three years. Link Analytical AB is a Scandinavian distributor of electron microscopy products, including Oxford Instruments NanoAnalysis’s products. “The acquisition of Link Analytical is consistent with our five-year strategy, which we commenced in 2006, to double the size of the Group and improve EBIT margins by 10 percentage points,” stated Jonathan Flint, chief executive of Oxford Instruments. Link Analytical reported gross assets of £1.7 million ($3.4 million) and an operating profit before taxes of £0.5 million ($989,340) in 2007, which is not expected to repeat due to one-time contracts and provision releases.
