GERMANY – The global food processing and commodities trading company, Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) has reached an agreement to acquire the Ziegler Group, a leading European provider of natural citrus flavor ingredients.

ADM said that the acquisition further expands its portfolio of natural citrus ingredients and positions it for growth in the global market of natural food ingredients.

Founded in 1963, Ziegler is a flavor distribution company headquartered in Aufsess, Germany.

The company uses proprietary cold concentration technologies to produce natural high-quality citrus oils, extracts, concentrates and compounds for flavor, food, and beverage industry customers.

The privately-held firm distributes and markets its flavor components with a focus on Europe, the U.S. and Japan.

“We are delighted that we found a strong home at ADM where both our business and our people can grow,” said Günter Ziegler, managing director at Ziegler.

“The integration of more than 50 years of citrus expertise into the ADM group will secure our top priority: successful long-term growth for our business and our employees.

Our family members will be staying with the company to help ensure a smooth transition.

We’re excited to join ADM and strongly believe that the combination of our technology and citrus capabilities, coupled with the portfolio of ingredients and global reach of ADM, will accelerate growth opportunities while creating benefits for our customers.”

The deal comes after ADM announced that it had completed the acquisition of Florida Chemical Company, US based producer and distributor of essential oils and citrus isolates for US$175 million.

According to Vince Macciocchi, president of ADM’s Nutrition business, the combination of Ziegler and Florida Chemical positions the company ADM for growth as a global leader in natural citrus ingredients for food, beverage and fragrance customers.

Addition of citrus flavors cements ADM’s leadership in natural flavors for food and beverages, offering a wide variety of high-value products and solutions in areas such as vanilla and mint.

“Citrus is one of the fastest-growing, highest-demand flavors for food and beverages, which is why the creation of a global citrus platform offering a complete product line for our customers is such an important capability for our growth strategy,” said Macciocchi

“We’re continuing the most ambitious portfolio transformation in our company’s long history, and as we build the world’s leading nutrition company, the beneficiaries will be our customers and our shareholders.”

The deal whose transaction details were not disclosed, is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2019.