Ajinomoto Sells French Sweetener Assets for €1

Japan’s Ajinomoto has decided to sell its wholly-owned French subsidiary Ajinomoto Sweeteners Europe to HYET Holding, an import and sales company for sweeteners and other products based in the Netherlands.

The transfer, priced at just €1, is scheduled to take place on October 1, 2015.

The move follows a strategic review by Ajinomoto in 2014 when it decided to consolidate its aspartame business and focus on expanding its specialty, low-calorie sweetener products.

Aspartame, an amino-acid based sweetener, is a commodity product and the global market has been flat for the past three years. However, Ajinomoto’s profitability has been declining with prices on a downwards spiral following the entry of several competitors into the market since 2000. It closed its aspartame production plant in Gravelines, France, last year.

Ajinomoto Sweeteners Europe posted net sales of around €36 million in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015, and employs approximately 100 people.