Animal testing company Huntingdon has agreed to a buy-out from a US firm to safeguard its shareholders' privacy.
Huntingdon and its shareholders have been the target of a campaign by animal rights protesters intent on driving the firm out of business.
The company will be taken over by Life Sciences Research, which has been set up in the US by a group of "foreign investors".
Life Sciences Research will offer one of its own shares for every 50 Huntingdon shares.
Huntingdon shareholders will hold about 85 per cent of the US company's common stock, and the UK firm's board will constitute the entire LSR board if the offer is accepted.
The Cambridgeshire-based animal testing company has confirmed that the group will not shift its operations offshore following the takeover.
Mr Andrew Baker, chairman of Huntingdon, says: "For some while, we have been considering how best to re-domicile ownership of the company to the US as part of our longer-term strategic plan.
"The US securities markets offer both a more developed market for our industry and greater shareholder privacy which, as everyone is aware, has been a serious issue for our shareholders."
Under US legislation, only shareholders with a stake of 5 per cent or more have to disclose their name and business address. In the UK, the address of every shareholder is in the public domain.
The British government offered Huntingdon use of Bank of England facilities in July after the company was deserted by its financial backers.
PA