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BASF has today (23 December 2024) announced that it has signed a binding agreement to sell its Food and Health Performance Ingredients business to Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC).

The sale includes BASF’s production site in Illertissen, Germany, and will involve the transfer of approximately 300 employees from BASF to LDC when the transaction closes. Both parties have agreed not to disclose financial details of the deal.

LDC said its Health and Performance Ingredients Business has limited synergies and integration into BASF, and is therefore no longer a strategic focus area for the group.

The business’ portfolio includes food performance ingredients such as aeration and whipping agents, food emulsifiers and fat powder grades. It also includes health ingredients like plant sterols esters, conjugated linoleic acid, omega-3 oils for human nutrition and some smaller product lines.

LDC, a global merchant and processor of agricultural goods including plant-based ingredients, has agreed to acquire the business in line with its “strategic plans for revenue diversification through more value-added products and growth in downstream markets,” said Michael Gelchie, the company’s CEO.

He added that the agreement is an opportunity to accelerate LDC’s participation in the fast-growing plant-based ingredients market, commenting: “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”.

In a statement announcing the deal, LDC said that continuous and reliable supplies and business relationships will not be impacted by the transaction.

Michael Heinz, member of the board of executive directors at BASF SE and responsible for its Nutrition and Health division, said: “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”.

“The divestment of this business to LDC supports our strategic portfolio optimisation and will allow us to focus on our core businesses in Nutrition and Health. We remain committed to leveraging our core product platforms and expanding our business in key areas such as vitamins, carotenoids and feed enzymes.”

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

Top image: © BASF

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