Hughes Hubbard Guides Bureau Veritas in Purchase of Maxxam

Hughes Hubbard & Reed represented Bureau Veritas in its $650 million acquisition of Maxxam Analytics International Corporation, a Canadian company specializing in analytical services. The purchase from Omers Private Equity was announced Dec. 20 and closed in January 2014.

Bureau Veritas, a French certification group, said the acquisition will position the company as the leader in the testing, inspection and certification industry in Canada and enable it to accelerate expansion in the United States.
 
“Maxxam’s technical and scientific expertise is a means of diversifying the Bureau Veritas offering even further into high-value added services,” said Didier Michaud-Daniel, chief executive officer of Bureau Veritas. “We will also step up our expansion in North America, where our clients can make the most of a range of services rounded out by the addition of Maxxam’s analytical services and solutions.”
 
Founded more than 40 years ago, Maxxam employs over 2,500 employees in more than 50 laboratories that serve the energy, environmental, food and DNA industries. Omers, the private equity arm of the Ontario Municipal Employment Retirement System, bought Maxxam five years ago and increased revenue by 80 percent through internal growth and acquisitions.
 
Founded in 1828, Bureau Veritas has more than 60,000 employees in 140 countries.    
 
The announcement made headlines in Bloomberg, Reuters, The Deal Pipeline and international media outlets.
 
Stephen Luger led the Hughes Hubbard team, which included Andy Braiterman, Jerry Harrison, Dan Schnapp, Susan Campbell, Veronica DiCamillo, Erin DeCecchis, Alex Bogdan, Tom Furst, Julie Hanus and Jillian Kane.