Food flavourings firm Treatt set for £156.6m takeover by rival Natara

Food and drink flavouring business Treatt is to be bought by a private equity backed rival for £156.6 million.

The board of the London-listed firm said they have agreed a takeover by Natara, the ingredient business owned by private equity investor Exponent.

The firms confirmed that Natara will pay shareholders 260 pence per share to buy the business.

It represents a 16.1% premium on the value of Treatt shares at the close of trading on Friday.

The acquisition, which will require court approval, is expected to complete later this year.

It comes two months after Treatt, which makes natural extracts and ingredients for food, fragrance and consumer businesses, saw its shares tumble after cutting its sales and profit guidance.

Treatt said it was impacted by weaker sales and tough market conditions, particularly in its North American business.

On Monday, the board of Treatt said they would recommend the takeover move, describing the offer as “fair and reasonable”.

Vijay Thakrar, chair of Treatt, said: “Treatt has many opportunities for growth ahead. While we have a clear strategy to capture these growth opportunities, a combination with Natara would provide the investment and scale that will enable us to do this faster, more extensively, and with lower execution risk than we could achieve on a standalone basis.

“It would bring together two highly complementary businesses and expand our reach and product offering significantly – positioning Treatt, our people, and our customers for long-term success.”

Natara, which makes ingredients and aromas for the food and fragrance sectors, was bought by private equity firm Exponent – which owns Gu puddings and other brands – in 2023.

Yoram Knoop, chief executive of Natara, said: “By combining with Treatt, we will be strongly positioned to continue our growth journey.

“The combination of Natara and Treatt will bring together two complementary businesses, expanding our product portfolio, accelerating our capability in innovation and delivering an enhanced customer proposition globally.

“The combination also will create more opportunities for each companies’ teams, with greater capacity for collaboration and investment in talent.”