Novonesis to acquire dsm-firmenich’s share of Feed Enzyme Alliance

Novonesis, a global company biosolutions company, has reached an agreement with dsm-firmenich – innovators in nutrition, health, and beauty –   to dissolve the Feed Enzyme Alliance and take over its sales and distribution activities, in exchange for a total cash consideration of 1.5 billion Euros. 

After more than 25 years of successful collaboration, a strategic repositioning at dsm-firmenich allowed this opportunity to materialize. This acquisition is aligned with Novonesis’ growth strategy and expands its presence across the animal biosolutions value chain. Financially, this transaction is accretive to revenue growth, adjusted EBITDA margin and adjusted EPS excl. amortization, with attractive revenue synergies.

Ester Baiget, CEO of Novonesis comments, “We are thrilled to announce the strategic acquisition of the full Feed Enzyme Alliance. Growing global protein demand, coupled with increasing land and water scarcity, requires innovative solutions. Now with an expanded presence across the animal biosolutions value chain, we are better positioned to create more value for customers with sustainable value adding biosolutions. This transaction underscores our commitment to driving growth, while also improving our EBITDA margin.”

Dimitri de Vreeze, CEO of dsm-firmenich says, “The Alliance has been a great success for both companies, establishing a global leadership position in feed enzymes. I am confident that this business will continue to thrive under the leadership of Novonesis, and I am pleased that the long-term commercial relationship with our Animal Nutrition & Health business will continue.”

Strategic rationale                        

Driving the complete value chain: Novonesis will vertically integrate the complete value chain of the Alliance, adding dsm-firmenich’s sales and distribution activities alongside its existing product innovation and production capabilities. The fully integrated business will be better equipped to serve existing and new customers with strong insights into core markets and product technologies enhancing R&D and unleashing further innovation.

Enhances leading position in animal biosolutions: Novonesis, through the successful combination of Novozymes and Chr. Hansen, is now an industry leader in animal biosolutions with one consolidated go to market model and leading technological know-how. With this transaction Novonesis will have a greater customer reach and a broader offering of market leading biosolutions, combining enzymes and probiotics, for both animal nutrition and health.

Attractive growth potential, further enhanced by revenue synergies: The total animal biosolutions market is projected to grow at a mid-single digit CAGR driven by growing protein demand, land scarcity and environmental concerns. This acquisition will accelerate Novonesis’ sales growth of animal biosolutions by a low-single-digit CAGR above market growth while also delivering adj. EBITDA margin accretion for the group. The attractive financial profile of the acquired business is enhanced through harvesting growth synergies and streamlining operations.

Novonesis is a global company leading the era of biosolutions with presence in more than 30 industries.

As innovators in nutrition, health, and beauty, dsm-firmenich reinvents, manufactures, and combines vital nutrients, flavors, and fragrances. Dsm-firmenich is a Swiss-Dutch company, listed on the Euronext Amsterdam, with operations in almost 60 countries and revenues of more than €12 billion. 

The Feed Enzyme Alliance was founded on a strong combination of two companies where Novonesis has contributed with extensive expertise in high-quality enzyme development and dsm-firmenich has offered a wide-reaching sales force with access to key industry customers. A strong relationship, business performance and high level of trust has made the Alliance a sound business for both parties.