Tate & Lyle shareholders have voted in favour of its acquisition by US ingredients giant Ingredion, clearing another hurdle in the path towards the powerful combination.
In both its court and general meetings, all resolutions were passed on the £2.7bn deal by scheme shareholders – 98.64% votes cast were in favour.
Under the UK scheme-of-arrangement process, the shareholders had to approve the acquisition at both a court-convened meeting and a general meeting.
At the court meeting, the number of shareholders voting was: For – 872 (82.03%) and Against – 191 (17.97%). The results for votes cast was: For – 277,655,683 (98.64%); Against – 3,837,857 (1.36%).
At the general meeting, the results for votes cast was: For - 277,635,466 (98.64%); Against – 3,832,749 (1.36%).
This means that 82.03% of voting shareholders voted in favour, but they represented 98.64% of the voting rights cast.
Hurdles to come
The company made clear that completion of the acquisition remains subject to other processes, including antitrust conditions and the court sanctioning the scheme at the court sanction hearing.
If all the boxes are ticked, the scheme is expected to become effective during the second half of 2027.
In June, the London-based company’s board unanimously backed the deal and recommended it to its shareholders. The combination will create an ingredients powerhouse worth billions of dollars and is part of a changing ingredients landscape.
After proposing the deal, Ingredion said that the acquisition would broaden its specialty ingredients platform “across texturants, sugar reduction and fortification, adding complementary capabilities in multi-ingredient systems and recipe development”.
