German chemical and biotech giant BASF is selling its Food and Health Performance Ingredients business to Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC).
The business includes aeration and whipping agents, food emulsifiers and fat powder grades; health ingredients such as plant sterols esters, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), omega-3 oils for human nutrition and some smaller product lines.
The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval, included BASF’s production site in Illertissen, Germany, the company said on 23 December.
Although BASF’s Food and Health Performance Ingredients portfolio played a role in addressing growing trends in human nutrition, the company said the business had limited synergies and integration into the company and was no longer a strategic focus area.
Both parties agreed not to disclose financial details of the transaction.
“The divestment of this business to LDC supports our strategic portfolio optimisation and will allow us to focus on our core businesses in Nutrition & Health. We remain committed to leveraging our core product platforms and expanding our business in key areas such as vitamins, carotenoids and feed enzymes,” Michael Heinz, a member of the Board of executive directors of BASF SE and responsible for the Nutrition & Health division.
LDC’s Chief Executive Officer Michael Gelchie said the transaction was the company’s first investment in dedicated facilities to produce food and health performance ingredients at scale.
“In line with LDC’s strategic plans for revenue diversification through more value-added products and growth in downstream markets, this agreement is an opportunity to accelerate LDC’s participation in the rapidly growing plant-based ingredients market,” he added.
