Dutch foods ingredients group CSM, Amsterdam, announced on May 7 that it has put its main bakery supplies business up for sale, citing a lack of financial resources to keep all its businesses. The company blames weak consumer spending and high raw material prices for the decision. Analysts expect industry interest in CSM’s assets, including, among potential buyers, Mexico’s Grupo Bimbo, the world’s largest bread maker; Aryzta, a specialty baker based in Zurich, Switzerland; Puratos, a food research company based in Bijgaarden, Belgium; and private equity firms.
CSM says it will focus on “bio-ingredients” in the future. Produced when sugar is fermented using bacteria to produce lactic acid, these products have a wide range of uses in the food and chemicals sectors, including for meat preservation and making plastics based on lactic acid instead of oil.
CSM’s remaining units are Purac, which makes lactic acid, and Caravan Ingredients, which produces bakery ingredients.