DuPont to Merge Ingredients Business with IFF

By Austen Hufford 

DuPont de Nemours Inc. reached a deal to combine its nutrition business with International Flavors & Fragrances Inc., creating a company that would be a top supplier of ingredients to U.S. food makers.

The companies said Sunday the entity would have revenue of $11 billion and be a major supplier of products including soy proteins, probiotics, enzymes and ingredients for creating scents and tastes for consumer products. The new company will continue to be called IFF and based in New York.

The combination would put more IFF products in fast-growing segments of the food market such as plant-based meat alternatives. DuPont's soy protein and binders and IFF products including coloring and flavors all are used in those foods, which have been rapidly adding sales and exposure. The company also will make products including capsules for the pharmaceutical industry and scents for household cleaning products.

IFF Chief Executive Andreas Fibig would continue to lead the combined company and serve as chairman.

DuPont became a stand-alone company this year following the breakup of DowDuPont Inc. Dow and DuPont agreed to merge in 2015 and have since completed a plan, laid out then, to split into three companies.

DowDuPont's materials-science business is now Dow Inc. and its agriculture business is Corteva Inc.

DuPont is the specialty-sciences portion. Dupont's Nutrition & Biosciences unit made up 28% of the company's revenue in the first nine months of the year.

The deal values DuPont's nutrition division at around $26 billion. As of Friday, DuPont as a whole had a market capitalization of $48 billion and IFF had one of $14.31 billion.

DuPont shareholders will own 55.4% of the combined company, while IFF's shareholders will own 44.6%. DuPont also will get a $7.3 billion cash payment.

The company's board will include seven members of IFF's current board, DuPont Executive Chairman Ed Breen and five other members chosen by DuPont.

"With highly complementary portfolios, we will have global scale and leading positions in key growth categories," Mr. Fibig said.

Write to Austen Hufford at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 15, 2019 19:04 ET (00:04 GMT)

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