Shares of York-based Animalcare Group plc, the international animal health business, rose as much as 15% after it announced it disposed of its majority shareholding in Identicare Ltd to BG Bidco 21 Limited, a newly incorporated company owned by funds managed by Bridgepoint Advisors II Limited, for £24.9 million.

Identicare is a UK-based pet microchipping and pet owner-focused services company.

“This represents a significant crystallisation of value for the company and its shareholders from a non-core asset and allows the company to focus on growth in its pharmaceutical-based animal health market …” said the York firm.

“As part of the group’s strategy to focus on pharmaceuticals and to drive growth through launching innovative products, Identicare was separated from the UK pharmaceuticals business within Animalcare Ltd in March 2021, with specialist leadership brought in.

“The decisions taken by the company to instil new leadership and with this, a strategic repositioning of the business to make it attractive to specialist investors has enabled Animalcare to today crystallise the value of its investment in Identicare.

“Upon receipt of the consideration and after fees associated with the transaction, the company’s net cash is expected to be around £27.0m.

“The disposal of Identicare significantly strengthens the balance sheet of the group and enables us to accelerate our organic and inorganic growth initiatives and deliver long-term value creation for shareholders.

“We continue to see a large number of opportunities and this transaction increases our confidence in being able to execute on that pipeline.”

Animalcare CEO Jenny Winter said: “I’m very proud to see what we have achieved with Identicare in recent years.

“Today’s decision to crystallise the value from the sale is the logical next step, significantly strengthening our balance sheet and giving us additional financial flexibility and firepower as we concentrate on growing our pharmaceutical-focused animal health business.”