Dechra has made its move to enter the growing animal vaccines segment with an offer for Genera, a Croatian-listed business, for €51.4m in cash. It is paying a premium price to do so (16.6x EBITDA), but this is a long held strategic ambition and will bring a number of benefits over time. It is expected to be earnings neutral for the first two years of ownership. We stay at Hold for now on valuation grounds, but continue to view Dechra as a core mid-cap holding in the sector.
