DSM fully acquires Cargill's cultures and enzymes business

Royal DSM, the global life sciences and materials sciences company, has completed its acquisition of Cargill's cultures and enzymes business, it said on Friday, December 6. This will enable DSM to become a global tier one dairy ingredients supplier.

The cultures and enzymes business of Cargill is a global leading manufacturer of cultures and enzymes for the dairy and meat industries with manufacturing operations in Wisconsin (USA) and France. It has a strong pipeline of new products built on three pillars of technology: culture texture toolbox, fast acidification for cheese yield improvements and culture flavor systems. The business generates net sales of about €45 million per year with approximately 200 employees.

The market for cultures and enzymes is valued at over €1 billion, growing steadily at more than 5% per annum. Applications are primarily found in dairy products which continue to have a healthy and tasty appeal to consumers worldwide. The growing diversity of dairy products requires versatile culture offerings enhancing taste, texture and mouth feel characteristics as well as health benefits (lower fat, less sugar, etc.) and convenience.

By combining Cargill's cultures and enzymes business with the dairy business of DSM Food Specialties, a strong global player will be created, enabling DSM to accelerate sales and capture meaningful synergies in global manufacturing and customer reach as well as innovation capabilities in biotechnology and SG&A.

The combination of the two businesses will allow DSM to achieve its ambition to become a tier one supplier of cultures and enzymes to the global dairy market and will greatly accelerate DSM's growth plans for its business, which continues to benefit from strong consumer demand for more versatile dairy products. The acquisition, which was first announced on October 26, 2012, further strengthens DSM's global position in dairy ingredients with enzymes, PUFAs, vitamins, cultures, probiotics, bio actives, preservation systems and tests.

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