Virbac, which has held a 51% stake in Centrovet—the leading animal health and aquaculture company in Chile—since November 2012, announced on November 22 that it was deferring its option to acquire the remaining shares (49%) at equivalent financial terms.

Exercising its option to purchase the minority shares in late 2017 would have added to Virbac’s debt burden at a time when the company is seeking to deleverage.

The three-year postponement will limit the impact on its debt while confirming:
- its strategic interest in aquaculture, a growing segment that is playing an ever-increasing role in the production of proteins for human consumption, particularly through products intended to protect and treat aquaculture farms;

- its interest in the Santiago-based Centrovet, particularly for its major involvement in salmon aquaculture and other species, as well as for its R&D, commercial and industrial resources.

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