NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) — Australian company Genetic Solutions and Catapult, of New Zealand, today said they plan to merge to form a new company called Catapult Genetics.
The new company will combine Genetic Solutions’ research capabilities in cattle DNA markers with Catapult’s similar technologies for sheep, the companies said.
Jeff Grant, chairman of Catapult and of one of the new company’s shareholders, Meat and Wool New Zealand, said the partnership “pulls together two complementary business operations already delivering leading edge technologies to New Zealand and Australian farmers.”
Grant also said the merger will bring specialized DNA technologies to the respective country for both cattle and sheep farmers.
Rick Christie, chairman of AgResearch, which is another Catapult Genetics shareholder, said the companies’ “R&D partnerships will provide substantial pipelines for new products,” and will give the new company “a very clear path to market for our beef genomics work.”
Financial terms of the deal were not released.