London, United Kingdom—Archer-Daniels Midland(ADM) is set to acquire Swiss-German ingredient maker Wild Flavors in a $2.99 billion deal, the company’s largest deal ever. 

ADM specializes in grain processing, while Wild Flavors provides flavorings, colors and ingredients to more than 3,000 customers in the food and beverage industries. Wild Flavors’ sales totalled 838 million euros in 2012 and are forecast to grow to about 1 billion euros this year, according to a statement from ADM Chairman and CEO Patricia Woertz. While many may be familiar with Wild Flavors’ Capri Sun brand, an ADM spokesperson stated that the brand was not part of the deal, and the juice drink will remain under the ownership of Wild.

Woertz also stated that “ADM and Wild Flavors will create one of the leading flavor and specialty ingredient companies in the world, with sales approaching $2.5 billion and significant room to grow.” Other ADM representatives added that this would allow ADM to offer food and beverage companies a suite of systems to enhance and improve their products. This acquisition comes on the heels of a company pledge to diversify its portfolio and expand its international presence, with a plan to invest 60 percent of its capital expenditures into assets outside of the U.S., according to COO Juan Luciano.

Published in WholeFoods Magazine, August 2014