ICL Food Specialties to purchase Prolactal

THE ICL Food Specialties business unit of ICL (NYSE and TASE: ICL) has recently entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire Prolactal GmbH and its subsidiary, Rovita GmbH (collectively, "Prolactal").

A global manufacturer of products for the agriculture, processed food, and engineered materials markets,

ICL will leverage the acquisition to achieve substantial sales and marketing synergies in regions around the world experiencing strong demand for texture and stability ingredients. ICL Food Specialties will be able to explore new market opportunities and deliver innovative, value-added ingredient systems that outperform other solutions currently available with the combination of ICL's existing phosphate capabilities and Prolactal's protein capabilities. The combined ICL and Prolactal operations will enable the former to boost its ability to offer its clients a broader range of texture and stability ingredients, including Prolactal's Prolactal and Rovita product lines.

Prolactal’s CEO, Johann Tanzer, will remain with the company following its sale to ICL. He will join ICL Food Specialties's senior management.  

The acquisition is expected to be EPS accretive for ICL from the first year of consolidation with an EV/expected EBITDA ratio of 9 for 2015. The transaction will be subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals in Austria and Germany. It is expected to close during the first quarter of this year.

Based in Hartberg, Austria, and Engelsberg, Germany, Prolactal is a leading European producer of dairy proteins and other ingredients for the food and beverage industries with annual revenues in 2014 reaching approximately €100 million. The privately held company produces and sells a wide range of functional dairy proteins for the beverage, dairy, and meat industries. These products are used to stabilise and improve the nutrition of beverages and foods processed under a variety of conditions.

Prolactal operates two plants with state-of-the-art production process technology for the complete fractionation of milk. It employs approximately 200 people.