Dive Brief:
- IFF is selling its food ingredients business to CVC Capital Partners for $4.3 billion, as part of its strategy to streamline operations and boost profitability.
- IFF will retain a 10% stake in the unit to facilitate collaboration with Food Ingredients and allow shareholders to benefit from the business’s growth.
- IFF’s food ingredients business, generating nearly $3.3 billion in 2025, specializes in texturants, emulsifiers, and plant-based solutions. The division, IFF’s largest, saw a 3% decline in sales from the previous year.
Dive Insight:
IFF expects the sale to enhance its focus, financial strength, and ability to reach growth and profitability targets.
The divestiture follows IFF’s trend of shedding assets, including the acquisition of DuPont’s nutrition business in 2021. Over the years, IFF has sold 13 non-core businesses, generating around $10 billion in gross proceeds.
CEO Erik Fyrwald views the transaction as a crucial step in optimizing IFF’s portfolio and concentrating resources on high-growth, high-margin segments.
Upon completion, IFF will operate in three core segments: scent, taste, and health and biosciences. The taste segment, with $2.5 billion in sales in 2025, provides flavor solutions to the food and beverage industry.
The deal signifies a period of active dealmaking in the ingredients sector, with Tate & Lyle considering a takeover bid from Ingredion and Heartland Food Products acquiring the Americas business of Whole Earth Brands.