FoodBev Media’s Melissa Bradshaw rounds up this week’s food and beverage news, including:
Compass Group to acquire CH&CO in £475m deal
UK foodservice company Compass Group has agreed to acquire hospitality services provider CH&CO.
According to Reuters, the deal is valued at £475 million, including debt, making it the company’s largest acquisition in Europe to date.
CH&CO operates in the UK and Ireland, offering services in workplace catering, events, venues, visitor attractions, stadia, education, healthcare and hospitality. It provides catering services to venues such as London’s Royal Opera House and Abbey Road Studios.
IFF partners with Bellona to restore Norway’s seaweed forests
International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) has announced it is partnering with the environmental NGO Bellona in a long-term project to restore seaweed forests in northern Norway.
Through the ‘Norwegian Marine Restoration’ project, IFF and Bellona aim to restore 5,000 square kilometres of seaweed forest, through managing invasive sea urchin predation.
According to IFF, the regrowth of the forests could increase biological carbon sequestration by 12 million tons – the equivalent of Norway’s total oil and gas industry emissions in 2021.
ADM names interim CFO amid ongoing investigation
Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) has appointed Ismael Roig as interim chief financial officer following the decision to place Vikram Luthar, chief financial officer and senior vice president, on administrative leave, effective immediately.
The appointment comes in light of an ongoing investigation regarding certain accounting practices within ADM’s Nutrition reporting segment, including related intersegment transactions.
Roig first joined ADM in 2004, serving a variety of global operation and financial leadership roles.
Infinite Roots closes $58m Series B funding round
German biotech company Infinite Roots, formerly known as Mushlabs, has announced the completion of its Series B funding round, securing a total of $58 million.
The company says that the funding round represents “the largest investment” in mycelium technologies in Europe to date, emphasising the growing importance of mycelium in the global food system.
The round was led by Hans Riegel Holding, one of the two holding companies of confectionery group Haribo, with support from the EIC Fund.
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