Alltech buys Ridley for €400m

Dr Pearse Lyons

US firm Alltech, which was founded by Dundalk native Pearse Lyons, has agreed to pay almost €400m to buy a Minnesota-based animal nutrition firm.

Alltech, which has interests ranging from animal nutrition, to beer and whiskey, will acquire Ridley in what Mr Lyons described as a “transformative transaction”.

Ridley is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Founded in 1980 in Lexington, Kentucky, by Mr Lyons, Alltech has evolved into a business generating $1bn (€900m) a year in sales. Mr Lyons previously worked for Irish Distillers before moving to the United States. He has estimated that the Alltech business is now worth $3bn (€2.7bn).

“This transformative transaction that combines two industry leaders allows Alltech to deliver better performance and value to livestock and poultry producers across the globe,” said Mr Lyons, who indicated earlier this year that he was looking at possible acquisitions or joint ventures to grow the business.

Ridley is one of the largest commercial animal nutrition businesses in North America and its clients include livestock producers as well as equine and pet breeders. Since 1994, it has grown substantially in the US and Canada, through the acquisition of a number of animal nutrition businesses. It also has operations in Kentucky.

Alltech is paying a 23pc premium to Ridley’s average closing share price over the last 20 days.

In its last financial year, Ridley generated revenue of $568.7m (€526m) and recorded adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $39.3m (€36.3m).

Mr Lyons said that Alltech will be able to bring its advanced nutrition technology to market “faster and more effectively” following the acquisition of Ridley.

“This combination creates a new model to deliver superior animal nutrition and tailored feeding programs supported by robust scientific research and data analytics,” he said. “This deal underscores our continued momentum in growing our business through strategic acquisitions of best-in-class companies with trusted technology and brand recognition.”

The combined company will have a presence in over 128 countries and 4,200 employees worldwide.

Alltech is wholly owned by Mr Lyons and his family and he has previously indicated that he has no intention of diluting their control over the business, despite approaches being made to buy the company.

He qualified as a biochemist from UCD before doing a PhD in Birmingham, and has retained very strong ties with Ireland.

Alltech has established a whiskey distillery in Co Carlow, and the company has been planning to build another distillery in Dublin. Last year, the company bought a disused church opposite the Guinness Hops Store, which it intends to spend €5m on to convert it to a distillery.

Alltech has also held a craft brewing festival in Dublin.

Great Northern Distillery to open in January

The Great Northern Brewery, which is set to become the Great Northern Distillery

The Great Northern Distillery will be up and running by January.

That’s according to new owner John Teeling, who bought the former Great Northern Brewery site from Diageo last year.

The former Cooley Distillery boss plans to spend €35m over four years to transform the former Harp Lager brewery into one of the biggest in the country.

Speaking to The Dundalk Leader this week, Teeling said he hoped to have construction completed at the site by December, with the hope of being operational early in the New Year.

He revealed that three copper kettles will be adapted into pot stills, which will allow the company to build a grain and pot still distillery in the same still room.

The full capacity of the distillery will be three million cases.

The distillery will be operational 24 hours a day from Monday to Friday and is expected to employ between 25-30 people.

Its produce will mainly be sold to third parties, with the plan being to distill grain whiskeys, pot still whiskeys and single malts for both the national and international markets.

He also hinted that he may look at building a visitor centre at the existing Carrick Road entrance.

Teeling’s Irish Whiskey Company will only be using half of the 13 acre site with 6.8 acres of it already leased to Cellulac, who will create 30 new jobs in Dundalk for the sustainable production of lactic acid from second generation (2G) feedstocks.

County Museum highlights growing collection donated by the people

The contribution that the people of Dundalk and County Louth have made to the County Museum’s impressive collection is the focus of its 20th anniversary exhibition: “Celebrating 20 years – A Story Unfolds”, which was officially opened yesterday by Mr Conor Newman, Chairperson of the Heritage Council of Ireland.

The County Museum, Dundalk, a former distillery and later a tobacco warehouse, was officially opened on March 28, 1994 by then Uachtarain na hEireann, Mary Robinson.

In the years since the opening of the museum, the people of the region have loyally supported the facility, adding to its collection by donating family records, images and artefacts of times gone by so that this history and knowledge is available to current and future generations.

County Curator, Brian Walsh, explained that the most appropriate way to celebrate the museum’s twentieth anniversary is by including the people who have made it such a success by donating items to the Museum.

“The County Museum here in Dundalk has been a real success right from the beginning, thanks to the support of many local people. We have mounted many major exhibitions over the years. We were the only museum in the country to hold an Olympics Exhibition in 2012 and we were the first museum in Europe to introduce virtual technology. Later this year we will become the first museum in the country to get our 1916 exhibition up and running.

“Without a shadow of a doubt a huge part of our success has been the support we received from the people of Louth. They have worked with us wherever possible in building a remarkable archive of local history here.

“We came to the conclusion that the best was to mark the anniversary is with an exhibition which will highlight a fascinating selection of the vast number of items placed in the care of the museum over the past two decades by local people who recognise that this history should be shared with as many people as possible.

“It is the museum’s way of recognising the contributions made, saying thanks and emphasising that it is for all of the people,” added the curator.

Mr Walsh went on to thank Conor Newman for officially opening the anniversary exhibition in his capacity as Chairman of the Heritage Council. It was an opportunity for him to see for himself just what the museum has to offer.

“We did have the then president at our opening in 1994, though we have to recognise that our current Head of State, President Higgins, is making history himself this week in London. We would like to have him pay us a visit during our anniversary year and I hope he will be able to accept our invitation,” added Mr Walsh.

‘Celebrating 20 years – A Story Unfolds’ will remain open to the public at the County Museum Dundalk from April to September during normal opening hours.

For further information contact the County Museum at 042 9327056.