Burnaby's Cantest Ltd. has been acquired by Mississauga-based Maxxam Analytics International Corp. for an undisclosed sum.
The acquisition greatly expands Maxxam's presence in B.C., which currently consists of one location in Burnaby.
Founded in 1969 by Donald Rix, employee-owned Cantest now employs 300 employees with laboratories in Victoria and Winnipeg. It also operates a sales office in Kelowna and one in Boston, Massachusetts.
As a result of the acquisition, Maxxam, which is owned by the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) private equity fund, will have 1,800 employees with 30 laboratory and service locations across Canada.
Maxxam plans to expand its services by leveraging Cantest's specialized expertise in other markets across Canada and internationally.
Cantest specializes in environmental, food and pharmaceutical laboratory services, while Maxxam focuses in environmental, petroleum, food safety and sciences, forensic and DNA services.
Maxxam said it plans to spend the next two months identifying the best options to integrate the two companies.