DSM and Firmenich announce today that they have entered into a business combination agreement (the "BCA") to create the leading creative and innovation partner in Nutrition, Beauty and Wellness ("DSM-Firmenich"). The combination will bring together Firmenich's leading Fragrance and Taste businesses, world-class scientific platforms and associated co-creation skills, with DSM's outstanding Health and Nutrition portfolio and recognized scientific expertise. The new company will have four complementary, high-performance businesses, each with leading positions and supported by world-class science.
DSM-Firmenich will benefit from complementary skills in fragrance, taste, texture and nutrition, backed by world-class scientific research. The company will have unrivalled proprietary skills to partner with its customers to achieve their ambitions. DSM-Firmenich will be able to better anticipate and respond to the needs of today's increasingly attentive consumers, who place a premium on sustainability, health and well-being.
The DSM-Firmenich merger will further accelerate innovation for the sector and generate new growth opportunities for its customers. It will form a new global partner to serve the food industry, combining DSM's Food & Beverage and Firmenich's Taste & Beyond businesses. Firmenich's leading global fragrance and ingredients business will be further expanded into the beauty sector with the addition of DSM's Personal Care and Flavors business. These new combined activities will be joined by DSM's highly successful Health, Nutrition & Care and Animal Nutrition & Health businesses.
The new group's extensive global footprint will provide customers with access to an unprecedented network of R&D, creative and application skills, informed by local consumer preferences, across regional and local hubs around the world. Both companies have a proven track record of investing in breakthrough innovations that create and reshape markets. The opportunities offered by innovative and complementary new business models fuelled by digital technology will build on each company's 125+ year heritage in scientific discovery and innovation.
DSM-Firmenich will bring together both companies' ever-renewed commitment to sustainability along the entire value chain, and in so doing, will help boost their environmental, social and governance leadership on a global scale. Sustainability considerations have long been integrated into both companies' strategies, and DSM-Firmenich brings together two companies with shared values and long-standing actions on climate change, environmental protection and people.
The strategic rationale of this merger translates into attractive synergy potential, including a double-digit increase in earnings per share, as well as stronger strategic positioning in the markets in which DSM-Firmenich will be present.
Thomas Leysen, Chairman of DSM's Supervisory Board, commented: " DSM-Firmenich will bring together cutting-edge creativity, scientific research and innovation. Together, we'll be able to better meet our customers' needs and deliver attractive growth and returns. However, a successful merger requires more than complementary capabilities or compelling financial data; it requires balanced governance and respect for the interests of all stakeholders, but above all shared values. My colleagues and I are convinced that we have all these elements, and it is for this reason that the DSM Supervisory Board has concluded that this is truly a merger in the interests of all stakeholders."
Patrick Firmenich, Chairman of Firmenich, commented: " The combination of DSM and Firmenich is a profound transformation, bringing together two culturally aligned and ¡conical companies, each with over 125 years of experience in innovation. Our common purpose and values, combined with our highly complementary skills, give me every confidence that we can further accelerate our growth through innovation and new creations. I'm convinced that for all the stakeholders of the future DSM-Firmenich, the most exciting part is yet to come. "
The combination of Firmenich and DSM will create the world's leading creative and innovative partner in nutrition, beauty and wellness, with four highly efficient and complementary businesses, each holding leadership positions including :
- Perfumery & BeautyFirmenich, with combined sales of 3.3 billion euros, will be the leading creator of responsible fragrances and beauty products, as well as a global aroma ingredients company, which together are leaders in renewable, natural, proprietary, biodegradable and biotech-derived ingredients. Firmenich's world-leading fragrance and ingredients business will expand into Beauty with the addition of DSM's Personal Care and Flavors business to delight consumers with quality sensory experiences and differentiated performance, offering decisive benefits in cleanliness and hygiene, health and comfort, emotion and well-being.
