The Dutch group and the traditional Geneva company are merging and want to offer food additives, perfume and more from a single source in the future.
DSM reaches for the Geneva fragrance specialists Firmenich.
It is a Swiss-Dutch global group that is to be created: As DSM and Firmenich announced on Tuesday, the two traditional companies want to merge their activities. The new company will have dual headquarters in Kaiseraugst (AG) and Maastricht and will be listed on Euronext Amsterdam.
While DSM first gained a foothold in Switzerland through the acquisition of Roche’s vitamin division, Firmenich is one of the largest companies in the fragrance sector.
The combined DSM-Firmenich will have around 28,000 employees and generate sales of around CHF 11.5 billion.
It is planned that the shareholders of DSM (stock market capitalization currently around 25 billion euros) will hold 65.5 percent and the Firmenich shareholders 34.5 percent of the new company. As part of the transaction, the previous owners of the privately held Firmenich are to receive 3.5 billion euros in cash in addition to the shares in the new structure.
DSM Firmenich will be active in the following four areas in the future:
- Perfumery & Beauty: Development and manufacture of fragrances and products for body care.
- Food & Beverage: Flavors and additives for the food and beverage industry.
- Health, Nutrition & Care: food supplements, vitamins
- Animal Nutrition & Health: Additives for animal nutrition.