French Biotech Company Acquires Israel’s Microalgae Developer Algatech

Solabia Group, a French biotechnology company, announced this week that it has acquired Israel’s Algatech, a company that commercially cultivates microalgae, for an undisclosed sum.

Algatech was founded in 1998 by members of Kibbutz Ketura in the Arava desert and has gone on to develop, cultivate, and commercialize ingredients delivered from microalgae and used by leading food supplement, food, and cosmetic brands worldwide.

Solabia is a multinational manufacturer of natural active ingredients for the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and microbiology industries.

Algatech CEO Hagai Stadler said the development “marks a significant milestone for the Company and all of the people behind its success to date and is an important step towards realizing our mission to unlock the power and share the benefits of microalgae with the world.”

“Together with Solabia, we are poised to extend the Algatech growth story as part of a larger organization with an extensive global footprint, a shared commitment to innovation, research and development, and an unwavering focus on utilizing the benefits of microalgae to elevate the health of all of us,” he added.

Gerard Josset, CEO of Solabia Group said “Algatech’s pioneering R&D, impressive manufacturing facilities, market-leading product portfolio and established customer base brings the opportunity for Solabia to be present in both fields of macroalgae and microalgae whose futures are very promising.

Josset said the move “will allow us to further strengthen our position in the nutrition and food supplement markets. We are looking forward to working with Algatech and its accomplished team to accelerate the growth of its current product portfolio, as well as to develop new algae-based products for the cosmetics and pharmaceuticals industries.

Kibbutz Ketura will retain a minority share, according to the announcement.