The shareholders of Joice and Hill have reached an agreement in principle on the acquisition of 100 per cent of the shares of Joice and Hill by Hendrix Genetics.

Currently, Hendrix Genetics via its affiliate Institut de Sélection Animale B.V. holds 40 pre cent of Joice and Hill. Completion of the envisaged transaction is expected by January 2010 and is subject to various customary consents. Joice and Hill, with Nick Bailey as Managing Director, becomes a managerial part of the Poultry Distribution Division (SFPA and Integra) under the leadership of Laurent Taalbi.

Joice and Hill Poultry Ltd. was founded in 1965 by Dick Joice and Dick Hill and has a long history in layer chick distribution. The company has 56 employees and operates a 10 million chick hatchery at Eye near Peterborough. Hatching eggs are exclusively produced on company farms in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk.