Frutarom to acquire 70% stake in Argentina’s Meroar

Israeli flavours and speciality ingredients maker Frutarom has signed an agreement to acquire 70% stake in Argentinean flavours and fragrances company Meroar for $11.2m.

Founded in 1980, Meroar manufactures and markets flavours and fragrances at its production facility in Buenos Aires.

Meroar owns a research and development centre, application labs, and has separate production facilities for producing flavours for the beverage, sweets, baked goods and pharmaceutical industries.

The acquisition, which is Frutarom’s eighth in Latin America in the past six years, is part of a plan to strengthen its market share in the growing market in the region.
Funded through bank loans, the deal is expected to close over the coming months.

Upon completion, Meroar’s managers and founders Mario Volevici, Jorge Safi, Juan Carlos Indeciso and Emiliano Volevici, will continue with managing activities and will join Frutarom’s management structure in Latin America.

Frutarom president and CEO Ori Yehudai said: “The Meroar acquisition constitutes a significant first entry for Frutarom into Argentina, and is yet another strategic acquisition of an activity in Frutarom’s core field, which will enable us to offer our customers a broader range of innovative solutions, and an important step in implementing Frutarom’s strategic plan to develop a worldwide business of Fragrances, particularly in emerging markets with high growth rates.”

The acquisition of Meroar is reportedly the second acquisition for the company this year, following 20 acquisitions over the past two years, and 37 acquisitions we have carried out since 2013.

Yehudai added: “Meroar has extensive know-how acquired over the years and unique flavours and fragrance solutions based on its founders’ extensive experience.

“Those will contribute to building up our position in these activities, with an emphasis on Latin America, in combination with our activity in the fragrance industry in Peru, through Montana, which will enable some very interesting synergies and cross-selling opportunities, in Argentina, Peru, and other Latin American countries.”