Royal DSM in talks to buy Cargill's culture and enzymes business

Dutch chemical and pharmaceutical group Royal DSM NV (DSM) yesterday said that it was in exclusive talks to buy Cargill's culture and enzymes business and pursue a greater share of the over €1 billion global market for cultures and enzymes.

''A possible combination of the Cargill cultures and enzymes business with the dairy business of DSM Food Specialties would be highly complementary, creating a strong global player,'' the Heerlen, Netherlands-based company said in a statement.

The cultures and enzymes business of Cargill is a global leading manufacturer of cultures and enzymes for the dairy and meat industries with manufacturing operations in Wisconsin - the US and France and generates net sales of about €45 million per year.

DSM said the Cargill cultures and enzymes business has a strong pipeline of new products built on three pillars of technology: culture texture toolbox, fast acidification for cheese yield improvements and culture flavor systems.

A possible combination of the Cargill cultures and enzymes business with its own dairy business would be highly complementary creating a strong global player and enable it to propel sales growth as well as capture sizable synergies in global manufacturing footprint, DSM added.

Hans-Christian Ambjerg, president DSM Food Specialties, said, ''This acquisition would be another great step in achieving our ambitious growth strategy. Combining both businesses would allow us to serve our customers faster with one of the most versatile offerings in cultures and enzymes in the global dairy industry. We have great respect for the knowledge and expertise of the people at Cargill.''

Both companies are now engaging in the information and consultation process with employee representative bodies in the relevant countries.
 
With a war chest of more than €1 billion, DSM has already made six acquisitions in the nutrition cluster worth €2 billion, since September 2010, as part of its strategic plan to focus on high growth economies.

DSM, the world's largest vitamin maker, employs around 22,000 people globally and manufactures products as diverse as nutritional supplements, including a new way of fortifying sugar with Vitamin A, to pharmaceuticals, electronics and paints.