BASF is selling its Food and Health Performance Ingredients business to global merchant and agricultural goods processor, Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC). Subject to customary closing conditions and approval from relevant regulatory bodies, the agreement will include the transferring of 300 employees and the handing over of the BASF production site in Illertissen, Germany.
“In line with LDC’s strategic plans for revenue diversification through more value-added products and growth in downstream markets, this agreement is an opportunity to accelerate LDC’s participation in the rapidly growing plant-based ingredients market,” expressed LDC Chief Executive Officer, Michael Gelchie. “We are excited about the prospect of this transaction, as LDC’s first investment in dedicated facilities to produce food and health performance ingredients at scale.
The food and health performance ingredients division consists of:
- food performance ingredients like aeration and whipping agents
- food emulsifiers and fat powder grades
- health ingredients including plant sterols esters, conjugated linoleic acid 9CLA), omega-3 oils for human nutrition and other smaller product lines
The deal is part of the company's strategic portfolio optimization initiative. With limited synergies and integration into BASF, the division no longer served as a strategic area of focus for the company, according to the announcement.
“Building on our teams’ success to develop this business very well over the last years, LDC as a future-oriented company can offer our employees and the portfolio a promising perspective,” commented Michael Heinz, Member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE and responsible for the Nutrition & Health division. “The divestment of this business to LDC supports our strategic portfolio optimization and will allow us to focus on our core businesses in Nutrition & Health. We remain committed to leveraging our core product platforms and expanding our business in key areas such as vitamins, carotenoids and feed enzymes.”
