City snapshot: Glanbia acquires ingredients firm Flavor Producers in $355m deal

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Irish nutrition group Glanbia has acquired US ingredients business Flavor Producers in a deal worth up to $355m (£284.7m).

California-based Flavor supplies flavours and extracts to the food and beverage industries, with a focus on organic and natural ingredients.

It generated sales of $86.1m (£69m) in the year to February 2024 and adjusted EBITDA of $19.7m (£15.8m).

Glanbia said the deal was consistent with its strategy of acquiring complementary businesses to grow its ‘Better Nutrition’ platforms.

CEO Hugh McGuire added the transaction represented “an important step” in the continued growth of the Nutritional Solutions business.

“This acquisition builds on our existing flavours capability and positions us well to capture long-term growth opportunities in the organic and natural flavours segments,” he said.

“M&A is an important part of our growth strategy and this transaction represents a further opportunity to scale our NS business, unlock synergies and acquire unique and complementary capabilities.”

Glanbia agreed an initial consideration of $300m (£240.5m), with an additional deferred payment of up to $55m (£44.2m) depending on Flavor’s performance in 2024.

Morning update

Upmarket tonic maker East Imperial has suspended trading in its shares this morning as the business ceased trading and prepared to appoint administrators or liquidators.

It comes after the drinks group was hit on Friday by an immediate redemption notice from INL Investment for loan notes worth £2.2m, plus all interest due.

East Imperial said on Friday that it was unable to meet this redemption liability, leading the board to discuss a possible administration or liquidation with its advisors.

Founded in 2012, East Imperial makes its high-end mixers in New Zealand to an 1903 East African recipe using all-natural ingredients, supplying luxury hotels and hospitality venues.

The London Stock Exchange listed company struggled in 2023 as working capital constraints slowed expansion plans.

The FTSE 100 opened down 0.4% to 7,960.12pts.

Shares in Glanbia soared 7.1% to €18.10 on this morning’s deal.

Virgin Wines is also up 5% to 47.3p in the early going, while Bakkavor rose 1.5% to 117.2p and SSP climbed 1% to 208.2p.

Early losers include Nichols, down 2.6% to 964p, and Naked Wines, down 2.4% to 56.1p.