Givaudan announced that it has entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire 100% of the shares of Soliance SA and its subsidiaries. Soliance is currently a division of ARD (Agro Industrie Recherches & Développements).
Soliance provides innovative cosmetic solutions to its international clients and partners and develops high added-value active ingredients, derived from vegetable sources, microorganisms and microalgae. Soliance currently has two sites in France, located in Pomacle and Ile Grande, and employs 77 people.
Gilles Andrier, CEO of Givaudan, said: “Soliance represents Givaudan’s first acquisition since that of Quest. Its current portfolio of active cosmetic ingredients and strong process development and research capabilities fit well into the five strategic pillars of Givaudan.”
Givaudan aims to be ‘the essential source of sensory innovation for our customers’, and it has been working on becoming the ‘clear leader’ in both flavours and fragrances. The acquisition of Quest in 2006 added a greater product offering in both fragrances and flavour technology, to Givaudan’s portfolio. The company also brought a significant presence in emerging markets such as Latin America and Asia. In the flavours segment, Quest offered an increased presence among the top 100 food and beverage customers, as well as expansion into beverage bases and high value seasonings. Quest also brought with it strengthened culinary expertise in food service, as well as holding a leading position in emerging markets.
This latest acquisition of Soliance, helps to boost Givaudan’s fragrance division, enabling the company to have a strong combined fragrance and flavours offering. Soliance uses biotechnologies such as fermentation to produce microorganisms for cosmetic innovation; these are produced using vegetable and renewable sources, such as wheat or rapeseed, which are raw materials derived from the Soliance shareholders supply chains. This production style provides a good fit with the Givaudan portfolio. Soliance also uses marine biotechnology and plant supply chains to produce cosmetic ingredients.
Michael Carlos, President of Givaudan’s Fragrance Division, said: “We expect Soliance to become an integral part of the Fragrance Division and bring significant contributions over the next few years, particularly in Research and Development. Soliance has a strong track record of identifying natural molecules which can bring value to our customers and to their consumers.”
While terms of the deal have not been disclosed, the Soliance operations would have represented approximately CHF 25 million of incremental sales to Givaudan’s results in 2013 on a proforma basis. Givaudan plans to fund the transaction from existing resources. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014, subject to the customary closing approvals and conditions which includes consultations with the employee representative bodies.
Givaudan also has a flavour division, which has four business units: Beverages, Dairy, Savoury and Sweet Goods. The company uses its sensory expertise to bring innovation to food and beverage products. It has brands such as TasteEssentials, which is a range that encapsulates an ‘evolutionary approach’ to creating new flavours and taste experiences. It also has TasteSolutions, which ranges from salt alternatives to natural sweeteners.
