Symrise Completes Diana Group Acquisition

08 Aug 2014 --- Symrise AG have successfully completed the acquisition of French Diana Group, one of the leading manufacturers of natural flavors and the global number 1 for pet food solutions. The takeover has been approved by the Diana worker’s council and cleared by the antitrust authorities. Symrise and Diana will now immediately initiate the smooth integration while at the same time remaining fully dedicated to their customers and services.

“We have successfully completed the acquisition of Diana which paves the way to now immediately integrate the activities of Symrise and Diana. We look forward to working together as our teams share the same entrepreneurial mindset, customer orientation and dedication for natural flavors and nutrition. To meet the growing consumer demand for naturally based solutions we will create an unparalleled platform for natural extracts and functional ingredients. In addition, we will significantly enhance our access to natural raw materials and tap into the in the pet food market. Symrise will therefore be very well positioned to continue its profitable growth,” said Dr. Heinz-Jürgen Bertram, CEO of Symrise AG.

Symrise and Diana stand for pro-forma sales of EUR 2.3 billion. With its large portfolio of natural ingredients and extracts and its strong backward integration beyond fruit and vegetables, Diana ideally complements the activities of Symrise. As part of the integration process Symrise will adapt its Flavor & Nutrition business in which Diana will be incorporated. Going forward, the Flavor & Nutrition segment will consist of two divisions. In the Flavors division, Symrise will concentrate on the development of flavors and flavor compounds. Symrise’s functional ingredients applications, Consumer Health and the nutrition activities will be integrated to Diana, which will in the future form the second division of the Flavor & Nutrition segment.

Symrise expects Diana to become earnings accretive from 2015 onwards. The integration will be implemented by joint project teams formed by employees of Symrise and Diana.

Symrise had announced the acquisition of Diana on April 12, 2014. Following the positive feedback from Diana’s employee representatives shortly afterwards as well as regulatory approval, the transaction has been closed on July 29, 2014. The transaction is valued at around EUR 1.3 billion and financed through a combination of equity and debt.