Devenish Nutrition Group, the animal nutrition specialist based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, has completed the sale of its North America division, Devenish LLC, and related assets to the South Korean-based agricultural and biotechnology Group, Easy Bio Corporation.

Devenish LLC comprises five manufacturing facilities in the USA and Mexico and a further six research facilities in which the business co-operates with a number of key customers in both the USA and Mexico. Under a licensing agreement, Devenish LLC will have exclusive use of the Devenish brand in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

The Devenish Group’s other activities in Europe and internationally are unaffected by this transaction and will continue to be serviced by the Belfast-based business and the Devenish International sales team.

Devenish intends to apply the proceeds of the sale to redeem debt and invest in its core activities in northwest Europe and other international markets.

Tony McEntee, chief executive of Devenish Nutrition Group, said that “the Board of Devenish is pleased to announce its agreement to sell our North America business to Easy Bio. Following this disposal, the group will have a sharper business focus and will capitalize on the sustainable growth potential presented by our operations and activities in our core markets of Ireland, the UK along with our other significant international markets.” He added: “As a business we have worked closely with Easy Bio for many years and look forward to continuing to collaborate in the years ahead.”

Stevenson Hwang, chief executive of Easy Bio Corporation said “the acquisition of Devenish North America is part of our strategic growth plans for the USA, Canadian and Mexican markets. Devenish’s scientific and research-based approach to developing solutions, combined with excellent customer service is aligned with our business model and we look forward to continuing the strong growth achieved by the team in the coming years.”