Growth has slowed at Synergy Health, the Swindon-based international medical sterilisation group, as it faces a challenge to its acquisition by a major US healthcare firm.
Pre-tax profits at the firm, based on Swindon’s Windmill Hill Business Park, increased by 1.6% to £43.6m in the 12 months to March 29 – against a 13% profits rise the previous year. Revenues rose 7.5% to £408.8m. 
Synergy announced last October it had agreed a takeover by Ohio-based Steris Corporation, which provides infection prevention to clients in the healthcare, pharmaceutical and research industries. The new company, 30% owned by Synergy shareholders with the balance owned by Steris stockholders, is expected to have a combined revenue of about $2.6bn and employ about 14,000 people in 60 countries.
But last week US regulator the Federal Trade Commission said it could be block the move as being anti-competitive. The announcement triggered a 20% fall in Synergy’s shares.
Synergy and Steris have said they intend to contest the commission’s decision, arguing that their combination is “pro-competitive and in the best interest of all constituents of the two companies, including customers”.
Synergy admitted its takeover had caused “some distraction” and it has had to redirect internal resources away from other acquisition activity and some potential transactions have been delayed or postponed.
But it said it had continued to expand its services to new and existing customers and forged ahead with its long-term investment opportunities.
During the year it won the two largest contracts in its history – including a multi-year contract with Sterilmed (part of Johnson & Johnson) to reprocess single use medical devices – and it secured two further large contracts in the US worth £17m.
As well as its head office in Swindon, the HQ of Synergy’s Applied Sterilisation Technologies division is on the town’s Elgin Industrial Estate. It also operates an electron beam sterilisation plant and microbiological services laboratory at South Marston.
Synergy acquired Swindon-based sterlisation group Isotron in 2007 and later moved its head office to the town.
Its range of sterilisation technologies include gamma, ethylene oxide ('EtO'), electron beam, ion beam, steam and plasma, which are used to supply the healthcare industry with outsourced services such as laboratory services (pathology, toxicology, microbiology and food and allergen testing) and healthcare linen services.
