Dive Brief:
- Ingredients supplier Tate & Lyle is considering a takeover bid of 2.7 billion pounds, or $3.7 billion, from larger rival Ingredion, the Britain-based company confirmed on Thursday.
- The offer is for up to 615 pence per share, a 64% premium of the company's closing share price on Wednesday. Under U.K. law, Ingredion has until June 11 to make a formal offer or walk away, Tate & Lyle said in a statement.
- The latest proposal follows "a number of earlier approaches from Ingredion" to acquire the company, Tate & Lyle said. There is no certainty that a deal will be made, according to the statement.
Dive Insight:
Tate & Lyle, traditionally known for its sweeteners, has been setting itself up to capitalize on surging demand for clean-label ingredients. The company bought competitor CP Kelco for $1.8 billion in 2024 to expand its presence in areas like nutrition, mouthfeel and texture.
That increased focus on mouthfeel and texture aligns with Ingredion's growth plans, with the company reorganizing its business and spending more than $100 million on an Indiana facility to become a leader in the segment. The CEO of Ingredion, which reported approximately $7.2 billion in net sales for 2025, previously told Food Dive that texture is an "underappreciated" part of food formulation, and is an essential part of manufacturing healthier or cleaner-label snacks that still taste the way consumers expect.
Tate & Lyle would also expand Ingredion's presence in sweeteners, such as stevia or artificial sweetener sucralose. The company says it is the first to have an all-American supply chain for stevia, allowing it to offer the sweetener at a more affordable rate.
However, with food companies more focused on providing value as consumers worry about inflation, Tate & Lyle has seen demand slow. The company announced a $200 million savings program over five years in the U.S., and is investing to drive volumes and return the business to top-line growth.
