Dive Brief:
- Nestle, the world's largest food conglomerate, will sell its 10% stake in Givaudan, the world's largest fragrance and flavors maker, for $1.27 billion.
- The sale is being run through a private placement to institutional investors.
- Givaudan is a major player in food manufacturing, although not widely known among consumers. Through branded ingredient solutions such as TasteSolutions Sweetness, Givaudan is often behind the tastes of popular foods.
Dive Insight:
No surprises here. Nestle has been quite clear that it intends to sell off non-core assets. And although Givaudan is a force in food, it's a much more significant player in the perfume and fragrances industry. The only question now is what will Nestle sell next? One month ago it unloaded Jenny Craig. Now all eyes are on PowerBar and Nestle's 29.5% stake in L'Oreal.