Dive Brief:
- ADM will pay $3.1 billion to acquire Wild Flavors, a Swiss maker of flavors and specialty ingredients. The move comes as ADM revamps its global operations and expands outside its core businesses.
- The agricultural commodity processing giant said it will combine Wild Flavors with its existing specialty ingredient business to create a unit with annual sales of about $2.5 billion.
- Wild Flavors is best-known to consumers through its Capri Sun brand of drinks.
Dive Insight:
Wild Flavors is the sixth largest flavor company on earth. And as such it should fit well with ADM's existing flavors and ingredient operations. More importantly, Wild Flowers will add capability in "natural" flavors to ADM's repertoire.
What's most interesting about the deal, which is the largest takeover ever by ADM, is Capri Sun. The foil pouch drinks are popular, but they aren't the sort of thing ADM is known for. The Wild Flavors purchase apparently marks a major move by ADM into consumer brands....unless ADM plans to turn around and resell Capri Sun.
Wild Flavors is also notable for its role in the creation of Libella, a carbonated juice drink that was popular in Germany in the 1950s and 60s. But there's no indication that ADM's purchase means a revival of the groove-covered bottles that were ubiquitous in Germany in the years after WWII.