Soliance on Givaudan's radar
France-based active ingredient specialist Soliance is a division of Agro-Industrie Recherches & Dévelopments and could see 100% of the shares and its units go to Givaudan.
If all goes to plan, Givaudan says it will be carrying out the transaction with cash on hand with an aim to build upon its existing active cosmetic ingredients business and enhance its current portfolio, including the fragrance division's work with natural molecules.
However, the producer of fragrances and flavours based just outside Geneva, has yet to disclose the price it would likely pay for Soliance, but has said that the latter's sales would have added about €25 million Swiss francs to its' 2013 revenue.
Soliance currently has two sites in France, located in Pomacle and Ile Grande where it uses vegetables, micro-organisms and micro-algae for cosmetics, including self-tanning lotions and skin creams.
First acquisition since 2006
If the acquisition all goes to plan, it will be Givaudan's first since 2006, when it bought flavours-and-fragrance maker Quest International.
“Soliance represents Givaudan’s first acquisition since that of Quest," reiterates Gilles Andrier, Givaudan's CEO.
"Its current portfolio of active cosmetic ingredients and strong process development and research capabilities fit well into the five strategic pillars of Givaudan,” he adds.
Michael Carlos, president of Givaudan’s fragrance division, added that the brand expects Soliance to become an integral part of its' fragrance division and to bring significant contributions over the next few years, particularly in research and development area.
"Soliance has a strong track record of identifying natural molecules, which can bring value to our customers and to their consumers,” he said.
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.
