CANADA – German multinational food ingredients supplier Symrise has signed an agreement to acquire Canadian food ingredients suppler Giraffe Foods.
Symrise made the acquisition from private investment firm Graham Partners and the founding Powell family.
Based in Ontario, Canada, Giraffe Foods manufacturers custom sauces, dips, dressings, syrups and beverage concentrates for the North American market.
Its serves customers in the foodservice, home meal replacement and food retail sectors.
Symrise in a statement noted that the acquisition will enable it to provide a variety of taste solutions to a wider North American base, accelerating growth within its Flavor & Nutrition division.
As part of the deal, Symrise will acquire the company’s two existing facilities and one warehousing site, integrating 250 Giraffe Foods employees.
Symrise’s president Flavor & Nutrition, Jean-Yves Parisot, said: “We consider this acquisition as a strategic opportunity to expand our portfolio into the highly attractive market for customised flavour and taste enhancement solutions.
By combining Symrise’s Flavor & Nutrition expertise with Giraffe Food’s custom formulation capabilities, we aim to become a leader in integrated taste solutions in North America to always better serve our customers.”
Parisot added that the acquisition supports the well-established Symrise businesses in the region and will enlarge its value proposition in Taste, Nutrition, and Health.
The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2021. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Earlier, Symrise reported strong half-year earnings, with sales increasing 4.8% to €1.9 billion, along with organic growth reported at 9.7%.
The business has seen a particularly strong period of operating in 2021, with the company recently expanding its operations in the UAE, investing €1 million into sensory and application labs at its Dubai facilities in the region.
Meanwhile, the German Stock Exchange has admitted the flavor giant into the DAX stock market index – in line with its expansion from 30 to 40 companies – with effect from September 20.
With a market capitalization of more than €16 billion (US$19 billion), Symrise was a “certain candidate” for promotion to the expanded index, the company notes.
Symrise has already been consistently listed in the MDAX stock index for German companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, for the past 14 years.
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