Corn Products expands polyols business with acquisitions
acquisition of the food business of SPI Polyols, as well as the
remaining 50 percent of SPI's Brazilian joint venture.
The move, first announced in early January, will significantly increase the company's ingredients offerings to the food industry. Corn Products yesterday said the terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. However, the combined businesses are expected to have annual sales of nearly $100m. "This acquisition will strengthen our sweeteners platform and reinforce our Pathway strategy to expand our value-added, specialty product portfolio and become a broader-based ingredients company," said Sam Scott, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Corn Products International. "The acquisition also would make us a leading producer of polyols in Latin America with facilities in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, and would allow us to enter the US and Canadian markets primarily as a specialty polyols supplier," he added. The food business of SPI Polyols produces and sells specialty polyols, including crystalline sorbitol, crystalline maltitol, mannitol, specialty liquid polyols and liquid sorbitol for the food, beverage, confectionary, industrial, personal and oral care, and nutritional supplement markets. Polyols are sugar-free, reduced calorie sweeteners primarily derived from starch. The company has also acquired the remaining stake in Brazil's Getec Guanabara Quimica Industrial, one of the nation's major producers of polyols, including liquid sorbitol and mannitol, and anhydrous dextrose. These ingredients serve the food, candy and confectionary industries, as well as the personal care and pharmaceutical markets. In September 2006, Corn Products International increased its equity ownership in Getec to 50 percent from 20 percent. Corn Products this month reported "record" sales for 2006, closing its 100th anniversary year with what it had forecast to be its "best year ever". The company, which is a leading producer of dextrose, starch, high fructose corn syrup and glucose to the food industry, said that its strong results were a result of good volume sales as well as favorable currency translations and price/product mix. Net sales for the year ended December 31 2006 grew 11 percent to reach $2.6bn, with profit increasing 25 percent compared to last year to reach a total of $416m.
