Germany's Symrise makes $544 million bid for Swedencare (updated)

Swedencare AB (publ)

05/06/2023 20:06

(Adds details from release, background)
       June 5 (Reuters) - 
    German flavour and fragrance maker Symrise AG  SY1G.DE  said
on Monday it has made a bid approach for Swedencare AB
 SECARE.ST , just days after acquiring a nearly 30% stake in the
Swedish pet healthcare firm.
        Symrise said it made a last and final offer of 37.50
Swedish crowns ($3.46) a share in cash for Swedencare, valuing
the company at 5.9 billion Swedish crowns ($543.77 million).
This represents a 10.86% discount over Swedencare's closing
share price.
  
        Following its acquisition of a 30% stake in Swedencare,
Symrise is now obligated under Swedish law to make an offer for
the remaining shares, marking a strategic move to enhance its
pet nutrition business.
  
        "Our full and fair offer for Swedencare's shareholders
reflects Symrise's strong belief that Symrise is the best
possible majority owner for Swedencare going forward,"
Heinz-Juergen Bertram, chief executive officer of Symrise, said
in a statement.
  
        Symrise, whose fragrances go into the perfumes of French
luxury giants LVMH and Kering, has enjoyed high demand for
pet-food ingredients amid a pandemic-fuelled adoption boom. 
  
        Last year, Bertram said the company had between five and
10 acquisition targets on its radar, with a plan to double the
unit's annual sales in the medium term.
  
        In April, Symrise 
    posted a jump
     in first-quarter sales, with its pet food sub-division
continuing to record high double-digit growth rates.
  

 ($1 = 10.8539 Swedish crowns)

 (Reporting by Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru; Additional reporting
by Akriti Sharma; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Pooja Desai)
 ((GursimranKaur.Mehar@thomsonreuters.com))