Mars Petcare Will Acquire Advanced Veterinary Diagnostic and Specialty Solutions Provider

Mars Petcare, under Mars Inc. will acquire Heska, a global provider of advanced veterinary diagnostic and specialty products. The agreement has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

Upon close, Heska will join Mars Petcare, which serves pets and pet owners through products and services within veterinary health and diagnostics, nutrition, innovation, and technology. This acquisition will enable the Science & Diagnostics division of Mars Petcare to expand its diagnostic offerings and broadly promote point-of-care veterinary diagnostics to the global pet healthcare community.

"We look forward to welcoming Heska to Science & Diagnostics, as we share the belief that diagnostic innovation is a critical enabler to providing transformative veterinary care," said Nefertiti Greene, president, Mars Petcare, Science & Diagnostics. "This transaction will bring together highly complementary businesses with a strong strategic and cultural fit that furthers our purpose to create 'A Better World for Pets.' This comprehensive diagnostic offering will mean broader coverage across diagnostic products, services, and technology, and will accelerate R&D for novel solutions."

Science & Diagnostics includes Antech Diagnostics, a global veterinary diagnostics business. Antech has brought innovative technologies and solutions backed by science and data-driven insights to veterinary professionals for more than 35 years. Antech's range of businesses includes reference laboratories, veterinary imaging, and education and telemedicine with board-certified specialist support services through Antech Imaging Services.

In July 2022, Mars Petcare launched its Science & Diagnostics division,which was designed to build on the business' heritage in science and leadership in predictive diagnostics.

"Today's announcement is a great testament to the quality of our Heska family — we are small, but our people and their creativity, execution, expertise, and value-creation have made us exceptional. We are thrilled to join Mars Petcare on its quest to build 'A Better World For Pets.' Working together, Heska's innovations will more quickly reach more veterinarians to help more pet families live better, healthier, longer lives. That's been our mission for over a decade and today is an incredible milestone towards realizing it," said Kevin Wilson, chief executive officer & president, Heska.

Founded in 1988, Heska sells, manufactures, markets, and supports diagnostic and specialty solutions for veterinary practitioners. Since its inception, Heska has been committed to bettering the lives of its customers, their pet patients, and pet owners around the world through its point-of-care diagnostics and informatics platform.

With a focus on investing in technology, research and development, and strategic partnerships with world-class leaders in diagnostics and treatments, Heska seeks to provide the benefits of breakthrough innovations to pet healthcare providers across North America and internationally, including Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, Australia, and Malaysia.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2023.