Sagentia Group acquires Oakland Innovation Ltd.

Sagentia Group plc (AIM:SAG), a global technology advisory and product development company, has announced the acquisition of Oakland Innovation Limited, a technology consultancy specializing in breakthrough innovation and market intelligence for the global consumer and healthcare markets.

Founded in 1989 by Managing Director Michael Zeitlyn, Cambridge-based Oakland Innovation employs 47 staff, of which 67% are PhD qualified in science and technology fields. Projects are focused at the front end of R&D, as well as supporting Business Development and Marketing teams to ensure that product development projects are undertaken with the right level of technology and commercial information and analysis to mitigate risks and promote success. The company has specific expertise working in food & beverage, personal care, home care, consumer healthcare, and also within the materials and chemicals industrial sectors.

In addition to an impressive global blue-chip customer base, this strategic acquisition extends and deepens the Sagentia Group’s offerings in technology intelligence, innovation and front end of R&D, where Sagentia is already active through its Technology Advisory division. Oakland Innovation will also grow the Group’s capabilities in the consumer and healthcare sectors. The senior management team, which includes Michael Zeitlyn and Jennifer Brown, Sales Director, and shareholder, will remain with the business.

Commenting on the integration of the two companies, Dan Edwards, Managing Director of the Sagentia Technology Advisory Division, stated: “I am delighted to be bringing Oakland Innovation’s science expertise, services, and brand into the group. Both companies share a talent and passion for technology and innovation and together we will be able to offer R&D innovation advice that is both disruptive and actionable to the consumer and healthcare markets; I think this is pretty distinctive.”

Michael Zeitlyn, Managing Director of Oakland Innovation, commented “I am really pleased to be joining the Sagentia team and with everything that means for our staff and our clients. For Oakland Innovation as a company, becoming part of the Sagentia Group was the obvious next step in our development; it expands our research and development capabilities and gives us an international footprint from which we can deliver more for our customers.”