Frutarom acquires Nutrafur of Spain

Frutarom Industries, one of the world's ten largest companies in the field of flavours and specialty fine ingredients, continues its momentum of acquisitions and the implementation of its rapid and profitable growth strategy: the company has announced the purchase of 79% of the shares of the Spanish company, Nutrafur SA, based on a company value of approximately $14.5 million.

The transaction was completed upon signing and is being financed with bank credit. Nutrafur specialises in the research and development, manufacture and sales and marketing of specialty natural plant extracts bearing antioxidant properties or scientifically proven healthy qualities and supported by clinical studies for the food, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and cosmetics markets.

Nutrafur sales for the 12-month period ending June 2015 amounted to $13 million. The value of Nutrafur's net assets for 30.6.15 on a cash-free debt-free basis stood at approximately $11.4 million.

Nutrafur has accumulated many years of know-how and excellent capabilities in the extraction of active components from vegetation, particularly rosemary, olive and citrus. Nutrafur products blend in well with Frutarom's portfolio of natural ingredient solutions and will help to expand Frutarom's line up of natural products for both food and health products.

Nutrafur's activity in the field of antioxidants, particularly in the area of food preservation and protection, and extending shelf-life based on natural components, further establishes Frutarom's portfolio of solutions in this field, which has been significantly strengthened following its acquisitions earlier this year (Vitiva and Ingrenat).

Active antioxidant ingredients constitute an important supporting product for food manufacturers, and Frutarom will integrate these specialty ingredients into the comprehensive portfolio of products and solutions offered to its many customers in the savoury field as well.

Frutarom will work towards capitalising on the many cross-selling opportunities arising from the acquisition and supporting the continued rapid development and production of natural functional solutions that combine taste and health in response to consumer demand and the major trends in the global food market towards more natural and healthier foods.

Ori Yehudai, President and CEO of Frutarom Group, said: 'During the last few months, Frutarom has made a major leap forward in strengthening its position as a leading global producer of natural specialty ingredients and the acquisition of Nutrafur fits in well with our rapid and profitable growth strategy while deepening and expanding Frutarom's activity in the growing field of natural plant extracts and antioxidants for food products.'

'We will continue investing and expanding our global activity in this important and growing field both by means of strategic acquisitions and through collaboration with universities, research institutes and innovative product development startup companies,' he added.

'The Nutrafur acquisition affords Frutarom advanced R&D capabilities along with a top-level and experienced managerial team, as well as substantial customers. The acquisition provides an opportunity to improve the group's operational flexibility and efficiency. Thanks to Frutarom's proven experience in the successful execution of acquisitions and realisation of the many synergetic and cross-selling opportunities inherent in combining acquired activities with those of Frutarom, we are convinced that this acquisition too will contribute towards the continuation of Frutarom's rapid and profitable growth and will generate top value for our customers, our employees, and our investors,' he continued.

Mr Yehudai concluded by saying: 'The acquisition of Nutrafur is our tenth acquisition since the beginning of the year and we are working on identifying and executing further strategic acquisitions. We will continue implementing our rapid growth strategy, which is based on combining profitable internal growth with strategic acquisitions to achieve the goals we recently set for ourselves: sales reaching at least $1.5 billion with an EBITDA margin of more than 22% for our core activities by the year 2020.'