Dive Brief:
- McCormick & Co., Inc. is set to acquire 100% of the shares of Enrico Giotti SpA, a Florence, Italy-based flavor manufacturer, for approximately $127 million, according to a news release from the company.
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Best known for its beverage, sweet, savory and dairy flavor applications, Giotti produces natural flavors, aromatic herbal extracts and concentrated juices, and makes $56 million in annual sales.
- The acquisition is the latest in McCormick’s growth strategy, which was outlined by president and chief executive officer Lawrence E. Kurzius this summer at the Sanford C Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference. The philosophy centers on targeting businesses where "flavor and health intersect."
Dive Insight:
With McCormick & Co., Inc.’s pending acquisition of Giotti, the company will have completed 13 acquisitions and joint ventures in the past nine years. And from what Kurzius said in June, more growth is expected to come.
McCormick is already well regarded globally for providing innovative flavor solutions in more than 140 countries and territories, supplying top flavor suppliers to packaged food companies and multi-national restaurants. The addition of the almost 90-year-old Giotti expands McCormick's breadth of value-added flavor solutions in Europe and adds greater scale to an already substantial industrial segment business in the Middle East and Africa.
It’s clear the company is trying to establish a presence in new markets — like the acquisition of Australia-based Gourmet Garden, a global market leader in chilled, packaged herbs with annual sales of more than $50 million.