Frutarom acquires stake in Slovenian flavours company

Israel-based flavour and fragrance company Frutarom has acquired a 56% stake in Slovenian flavours company Etol for €19.6m ($24.9m), as a part of its strategy to strengthen its presence in the emerging markets and expand its natural flavours portfolio.

Frutarom, which funded the purchase with a short-term bank loan, also plans to make an offer to buy the remaining Etol shares traded on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange in the next few weeks. The company’s president and CEO Ori Yehudai said the acquisition significantly expands the company’s operations in central and eastern Europe and strengthens its presence and market share in these markets, "Etol’s proven abilities and many years of experience in the flavours field, with its specialisation also in natural products in beverage bases, are a strategic asset for Frutarom."

Etol, which has a manufacturing and marketing site in Sofia Vas, Slovenia, develops natural flavour products based on local fruits of the region for the food and beverage industry, and employs 240 people. The company is also actively involved in developing bases for beverages, and Frutarom intends to expand Etol’s activities in this area.

This deal marks Frutarom’s second acquisition this year: earlier this month, Frutarom bought UK firm Savoury Flavours and its subsidiaries for $5.88m. In recent years, Frutarom increased its savoury portfolio with a series of acquisitions including Nesse in 2006, Gewurzmuller in 2007 and Chr. Hansen’s meat blends business in 2009.

Frutarom, headquartered in Haifa, Israel, develops, produces and markets flavours and speciality fine ingredients. Products are produced in its plants in the US, UK, Switzerland, Germany, Israel, China, South Africa and Turkey.