Company News Index

CSM to acquire Readi-Bake Ltd.
7/30/03 - CSM has reached agreement with Country Home Bakers Inc. (USA) to acquire its UK-subsidiary Readi-bake Ltd for EUR 28 million. The acquisition will be effective during the week commencing 14 July 2003 and will immediately contribute to CSM's earnings per share. Readi-bake Ltd produces American-style cookies and is market leader in the United Kingdom with total annual sales of approximately EUR 22 million. The business is profitable and growing. Readi-bake focus on the supermarket in-store bakeries and the foodservice market segment. Readi-bake employs 80 personnel and operates a purpose built factory located in Milton-Keynes (UK). The acquired operations will become part of CSM Bakery Supplies Europe. The activities of Readi-bake fit perfectly with those of Arkady Craigmillar, an operating company within this CSM division. Arkady Craigmillar is the leading supplier of bakery ingredients and frozen bakery products to professional bakers, in-store bakeries and foodservice operators in the UK. CSM is the world's largest specialist in ingredients and convenience products for the bakery sector. By acquiring Readi-bake, CSM considerably strengthens its position in the British market for sweet treats.

DSM cleared to acquire Roche’s vitamin business
7/23/03 - The European Commission has cleared the proposed acquisition of the Vitamins and Fine Chemicals division of Swiss company Roche by Dutch-based company DSM. The Commission had identified competition concerns in one market for feed enzymes. DSM submitted a package of undertakings aimed at terminating its alliance with German fine chemicals company, BASF, for the production and distribution of feed enzymes and transferring its activities in the production of feed enzymes to a purchaser to be approved by the Commission. After careful evaluation of the commitments package, the Commission concluded that the remedies removed its competition concerns and to restore effective competition. On March 31, 2003, DSM notified the Commission of an agreement under which it would acquire sole control of Roche Vitamins and Fine Chemicals. On 19 May 2003, the Commission opened a detailed second phase investigation. DSM and RV&FC belong to two different vertical alliances. DSM has an alliance with BASF and RV&FC with Novozymes, a Danish producer of industrial enzymes. In their respective alliances DSM and Novozymes are mainly responsible for research and development and production whilst BASF and RV&FC are mainly responsible for sales and distribution.

Cargill, Riceland form lecithin alliance
7/10/03 - Cargill and Riceland Foods, Inc., today announced their intention to form a strategic alliance to manufacture, market and sell innovative lecithin products to food, pharmaceutical, and technical customers worldwide. Under terms of the agreement, lecithin produced by Riceland at its Arkansas (USA) facility will be marketed and distributed by Cargill. The agreement is expected to take effect by Sept. 1, 2003. Riceland, a farmer-owned cooperative based in Stuttgart, Arkansas, has been a leading manufacturer of deoiled lecithin for 25 years. Riceland supplies high quality powdered and granulated deoiled lecithin products globally. Cargill Lecithin has a global sales organization and modern production facilities in Europe and South America.

Landec to sell vegetable subsidiary
7/07/03 - Landec Corp., a developer and marketer of polymer products for food, agricultural and licensed partner applications, announced today that its food subsidiary Apio, Inc., has entered into an agreement to sell its domestic commodity vegetable business to a group of Apio produce suppliers. The new entity will be named Apio Fresh, LLC and will initially be located at Apio's headquarters in Guadalupe, California. In addition, the parties have entered into a long-term supply agreement whereby Apio Fresh will supply produce for Apio's value-added, fresh-cut specialty packaged business as well as Apio's Cal Ex Export business.

Dreyer’s sells some assets
7/07/03 - Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Holdings, Inc. announced that it has completed the sale of its Dreamery and Whole Fruit Sorbet brands, and the assignment of its license to the Godiva ice cream brand to Integrated Brands, Inc., a subsidiary of CoolBrands International. In the same transaction, Dreyer's Holdings also completed the sale of select distribution assets to Eskimo Pie Frozen Distribution, Inc., a subsidiary of Integrated Brands, Inc.

Eurofins acquires German dioxin testing lab
7/07/03 - With effect from June 3, 2003 the Environment Division of Eurofins Scientific took over the assets and key employees of Berlins’ dioxin testing specialist MPU GmbH – the third largest dioxin testing laboratory in Germany. Through this acquisition, Eurofins strengthens its position of European market leader in the area of dioxin analyses.

Archive 2002