Givaudan Buys Ungerer of the U.S. to Grow in Flavors, Fragrances

(Bloomberg) -- Switzerland’s Givaudan SA agreed to buy Ungerer & Co. of the U.S. to strengthen its global flavors and fragrances business, which is part of the company’s 2020 strategy.

Givaudan plans to fund the acquisition by issuing debt, the Swiss company said in a statement late Friday, without disclosing the terms of the deal. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of next year.

Ungerer, based in New Jersey and founded more than 125 years ago, has a presence in more than 60 countries, eight manufacturing facilities, six research and development centers and 650 employees, according to the statement. The business would have added about $250 million of sales to Givaudan’s 2018 results on a proforma basis, the company said.

“The acquisition of Ungerer fits very well with our long-term strategy for our core business in flavors and fragrances,” Givaudan Chief Executive Officer Gilles Andrier said in the statement. “They have an excellent reputation in the market, thanks to the quality of their specialty ingredients as well as their strong position in the fast growing local and regional customer segment.”

Givaudan shares closed 0.3% lower on Friday, giving the Swiss company a market value of about 26.5 billion Swiss francs ($26.6 billion). The stock is up 26 percent this year, versus the 22% increase recorded by Switzerland’s SMI Index in the period.

To contact the reporter on this story: Albertina Torsoli in Geneva at atorsoli@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Beth Mellor at bmellor@bloomberg.net, James Amott

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