L&G puts LGC up for sale as DNA profiling to solve crime increases
FORENSIC science group LGC, the company which helps with murder investigations and paternity testing, is up for sale.
Legal & General Ventures, the private equity group, is selling it off for £200m, after acquiring it for £80m in 2003.
It is a massive turnaround for the group – which was also involved in investigating the case of murdered mother Rachel Nickell – as it raised just £3m after privatisation in 1996.
The sale comes as the government eyes a possible privatisation of the Forensic Science Service (FSS), the sole rival of LGC which is still publicly owned. City accountants and business adviser KPMG has been tasked with finding a buyer for the group.
L&G Ventures, which bought LGC from 3i, the private equity group, is hoping the sale will complete in the first half of next year.
The amount of crimes solved via DNA profiling has quadrupled since 2004, boosting the amount of potential work for LGC in future.