Frutarom Enters Irish Market with Redbrook Buy

Flavors and fine ingredients company Frutarom has agreed to buy Ireland’s Redbrook Ingredients Services for around $44.8 million. The purchase price also includes provision for an additional payment based on future performance. Redbrook’s principal market is specialty savory flavors. The company has an R&D, sales and marketing center and a production site near Dublin, as well as in Daventry, UK, near to Frutarom’s premises in Wellingborough. It posted sales of roughly $25.4 million for the year ending June 2016.

The acquisition, which is said to be largely synergistic with Frutarom’s activities, strengthens the Israeli firm’s leading position in the UK and marks its first entry into the Irish market. Frutarom’s president and CEO Ori Yehudai said the deal generated many cross-selling possibilities as well as opportunities to expand its customer base and product portfolio.

Redbrook’s CEO Kieran Fox will continue in his role and join Frutarom’s management. Frutarom has been building up its activities during the past 10 years in the savory flavors market. It said rising living standards and changes in lifestyles were boosting demand worldwide for savory taste solutions, both in home consumption and dining out.

Yehudai added that Frutarom had a strong pipeline of potential strategic acquisitions as it continued to focus on expanding into high-growth markets. The company has set itself a target of achieving sales of at least $2 billion with an EBITDA margin of more than 22% in its core activities by 2020.