Flavour and fine ingredients group Frutarom has signed an agreement to acquire the assets and business of UK flavour and fragrance company Oxford Chemicals for around US$12m (£8.25m), to be paid on completion of the transaction. The acquisition is being financed through a long-term bank loan.
In 2007, sales of the acquired activity were around $14m (£10m) with operating profit of $0.9m (£0.6m). The estimated operating profit from the acquired activity for 2008 is expected to increase by over 50%.
Oxford Chemicals was established in 1973 and has around 70 employees and offers synergies with Frutarom’s fine ingredients division, which includes development laboratories in the US, UK, Switzerland and Israel. Frutarom and Oxford have production and development plants located close together in the north of England and Frutarom says it will integrate its R&D, operations, marketing, purchasing and sales infrastructure with Oxford’s.
Ori Yehudai, president and ceo of Frutarom comments: “The acquisition of Oxford continues the implementation of Frutarom’s rapid growth strategy and further supports Frutarom’s position, which is already one of the ten largest companies in the world in the flavour’s field.”