Arla Foods has announced a strong set of results for 2011, and the company has told DairyReporter.com that this is due in large part tighter ‘global brand’ focus that is boosting its entire portfolio.
Swedish probiotics player BioGaia is welcoming a 5-year, €50.8m extension to a licensing deal with Nestlé for use of its Lactobacillus reuteri probiotic strain in infant nutrition products.
Danone and Mead Johnson may make a joint bid for the €8bn infant nutrition-dominated Pfizer nutrition business that is up for sale, according to press reports.
Dutch firm Newtricious has won undisclosed funding from a local investment consortium that will advance its egg-focused R&D to drive products to shelves in, “two to three years”.
€650m Dutch supplier Barentz Europe has built on its ever-expanding European and global presence by acquiring UK life sciences firm, Forum Products Ltd for an undisclosed sum.
Is there appetite for M&A activity in 2012? Food market watchers reckon the sector could see some heavyweight deals next year despite the on-going credit lending challenges.
Israeli soy player Solbar was acquired by the US farmers co-op, CHS last month, an acquisition the company welcomes for more than just financial reasons after some difficult years.
The United States’ biggest farmer-owned cooperative CHS Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire soy protein company Solbar for $133m, sending share prices in the Israeli company soaring.
Irish dairy ingredients and cheese manufacturer Glanbia could be on the look-out for acquisitions again in 2012, according to an analyst based in the country.
Chr. Hansen’s full-year results are in line with expectations, says an analyst, but positives noted were the suppliers’ expectations for its EBIT margin growth and the better performance for its probiotics division in Q4.
The Swedish Competition Authority (Konkurrensverket) has approved Arla’s merger with struggling Swedish dairy processor Milko, which had faced bankruptcy in the event of the deal not going through.
Italian botanical extracts giant Indena has gained an undisclosed shareholding in US supplements manufacturer, Thorne Research, that will see the two working to expand their presence in areas like cancer and diabetes.
Israel-based flavours, botanicals and speciality ingredients player Frutarom has reported lower profits in Q2, with raw material hikes cited as the principal cause.
Irish dairy and ingredients group Kerry has turned in a”solid” first half of 2011 that saw it increase volumes, weather raw material price hikes, and see success in a “go-to-market” functional ingredient strategy as profits jumped 6.1% on 2010 figures.
Hans-Christian Ambjerg, president of DSM Food Specialties, goes head to head with FoodNavigator.com on commodity prices, emerging markets and acquisition strategy.
French botanicals supplier Naturex has seen its 2011 Q1 net profit double from €2.4m to €4.8m on revenues of €64m, as benefits of its 2009 expansion kick in.
DSM’s head of global marketing in human nutrition and health, Gareth Barker, explains why it has bought a carotenoid supplier (approval permitting), how the Martek acquisition is progressing, and why the company is not finished spending yet.
US chemical group DuPont has successfully completed its tender offer for Danisco, as 92.2 percent of outstanding shares in the Danish food ingredients firm were tendered by Friday’s deadline, DuPont said on Monday.
The European Commission today approved DuPont’s €4.5bn offer for Danish probiotics, enzymes and ingredients giant Danisco but the deal remains in doubt as to date only 6% of Danisco shareholders have accepted the offer.
Royal DSM’s acquisition of Martek Biosciences Corporation has moved a step closer to finalisation with the news that its tender offer to buy all of the company’s outstanding shares of common stock at a price of $31.50 (about €24) per share has proved...
Financial analyst Nomura says Dutch ingredients giant, Royal DSM should be classified as a “nutrition plus” company on the back of stable vitamin prices and margins.
Finnish ingredients and branded foods player Raisio – the owner of the stanol-cholesterol reduction brand Benecol, will continue seeking acquisitions, it announced in its 2010 financial statement that saw EBIT come in at €19.4m for the year.
Danisco’s executive board and members of its board of directors have accepted DuPont’s offer of DKK 665 per share, corresponding to 28,056 shares with a total value of DKK 18.7m, Danisco said on Wednesday.
Pfizer has acquired the consumer healthcare business of Danish firm Ferrosan for an undisclosed fee in what the pharma giant says, “is an excellent strategic fit that strengthens our presence in dietary supplements”.
Analysts are saying Danisco could be carved up by its new owner DuPont, which they suggest is most interested in the Danish company’s enzymes for biofuels and that the food side of the business may be jettisoned.
Lonza has revealed full year results showing sales gains that helped to drive strong profit growth, despite the impact of REACH and negative currency exchange rates.
The Spanish subsidiary of French dairy giant Lactalis has paid €8.28m for 29.9 per cent of the ingredients research division of Spanish dairy group Ebro Foods, which produces the omega-3 forms for Ebro Puleva’s successful €100m+ selling omega-3 milk.
DuPont’s €4.9bn acquisition of Danish probiotics and sweeteners specialist Danisco this week is vindication of the increasing economic viability of functional foods, according to analysts.
Greenback Acquisition Corporation, a wholly-owned Royal DSM subsidiary, has begun the formal tender for Martek Biosciences, which DSM announced it was buying for €829m ($1.087bn) last month.
Danish bioscience firm Chr. Hansen is raising its revenue predictions by 11-13 per cent for 2010/11 after what it describes as “strong growth” in its first quarter from the September 1, 2010 to the end of November.
Regulating food speculation in the City of London is the lynchpin to preventing volatility over food prices, say economists, as parallel measures on both sides of the Atlantic will block traders conducting secretive deals wherever they can.
Norwegian krill supplier Aker BioMarine has turned in its first-ever quarterly profit as European, US and Asian sales for the omega-3 source surged in the first half of 2010.
Norwegian krill oil supplier Aker BioMarine expects to turn a profit for the first time in 2011 as its human nutrition business develops outside of the US.
Coca Cola has upped its stake in healthy smoothie maker, Innocent, to 58 per cent in a non-disclosed move one analyst said followed the gradual erosion of Innocent’s once vibrant and booming business plan.
Cognis has reported a 6.8 per cent decline in nutritional and health product revenue for the first 9 months of 2009 as the European market weakens and supplement sales slump.
Naturex president and chief executive officer, Jacques Dikansky, tells Shane Starling why in August the French botanicals giant bought Spanish supplier, Natraceutical Group, to double its size for the third time since 2002.
DSM has said that it intends to look for new partners in China for its nutritional products and anti-infectives, after its contracts with North China Pharmaceutical Group Corporation (NCPC) were suspended.
Naturex, the French-based botanicals giant that recently acquired the ingredients business of Spanish company, Natraceutical Group, will earn €185m in 2009 – up from its 2008 income of €93.2m, as it announced details of the deal.
Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has reported an 83 percent decline in net earnings for Q4 2009, and in corn processing increased profits from corn-based starches and sweeteners were buried by losses in ethanol.
