McCormick accelerates flavor growth and strengthens its leadership in clean and natural flavors
McCormick & Company Inc. (NYSE: MKC) (the "Company"), has announced that it has purchased 100 percent of the shares of FONA International, LLC and certain of its affiliates ("FONA"), a privately held company. FONA is a leading manufacturer of clean and natural flavors providing solutions for a diverse customer base across various applications for the food, beverage and nutritional markets. McCormick has acquired the business for $710 million in cash.
Lawrence E. Kurzius, chairman, president and chief executive officer said, "The acquisition of FONA reinforces McCormick's global growth strategy as FONA expands the breadth of our flavor solutions segment into attractive categories, as well as extends our technology platform and strengthens our capabilities. This acquisition also accelerates the strategic migration of our portfolio to more value-added and technically insulated products and thus, is expected to be accretive to gross margin. FONA's portfolio is highly complementary to McCormick's and will provide our customers with an even more comprehensive product offering to meet the growing demand for clean and flavorful eating, drinking and nutrition experiences.