Perrigo Company has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Pennsylavania based Velcera, Inc. for $160 million in cash. The acquisition is expected to close during calendar year 2013 pending the satisfaction of closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

Velcera is a leading companion pet health product company committed to providing consumers with best-in-class pet health products that contain the same active ingredients as branded veterinary products, but at a significantly lower cost. Velcera's products, including the PetArmor flea and tick products, are available at major retailers nationwide, offering consumers the benefits of convenience and cost savings while providing high-quality care for their pets. Velcera marks Perrigo's second acquisition in the emerging OTC companion animal healthcare market, having recently acquired Sergeant's Pet Care Products, Inc. in October 2012.

Velcera, together with major retail partners, has been instrumental in developing an OTC market for pet health products traditionally dispensed only by veterinarians. Retail sales of the PetArmor franchise exceeded $100 million during calendar year 2012, the value-brand's first full year on the market, having launched in April 2011. Velcera sales for the calendar year 2012 were approximately $60 million. The PetArmor franchise brand will be supported by a number of pipeline product candidates in both flea and tick and health and wellness categories that will continue to bring additional vet technologies to the hands of consumers in the mass market.

Perrigo chairman and CEO Joseph C Papa stated, "We are very pleased to take this next step in expanding our companion animal healthcare business. Velcera's product mix represents a natural extension to the Sergeant's portfolio we acquired last October. The PetArmor franchise will accelerate our strategy to deliver compelling value to both our retail customers and American consumers. Additionally, we see an excellent opportunity to leverage our existing commercial, manufacturing and distribution capabilities, and our customer base, as we aim to make quality, affordable pet care products available to consumers everywhere."

Assuming the transaction allows for a full twelve months of sales in fiscal 2014, Velcera is expected to be $0.11 accretive to adjusted EPS and neutral to marginally dilutive to GAAP EPS after the inclusion of intangible amortization, transaction and integration related expenses. The transaction is expected to be ROIC accretive in fiscal 2015.

Perrigo Company, a leading global provider of quality, affordable healthcare products. Perrigo develops, manufactures and distributes over-the-counter (OTC) and generic prescription (Rx) pharmaceuticals, infant formulas, nutritional products, dietary supplements and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API).