Two companies with large presences in New Jersey are teaming up, as flavor and fragrance company IFF and DuPont’s Nutrition & Biosciences business are merging in a $7.3 billion cash deal.
IFF, which is based in New York City, has locations in Hazlet, Holmdel, Dayton and Union Beach. DuPont, which is based in Wilmington, Delaware, has locations in Deepwater and Parlin, though its N&B business is based primarily in the Midwest.
Under the “Reverse Morris Trust” transaction, DuPont will receive the one-time $7.3 billion cash payment upon completion of the deal, and its shareholders will own 55.4% of the company, with existing IFF shareholders owning 44.6%. The combined business would be valued at $45.4 billion, according to the two companies’ news release.
“The combination of IFF and N&B is a pivotal moment in our journey to lead our industry as an invaluable innovation and creative partner for our customers,” IFF Chairman and CEO Andreas Fibig said in a prepared statement. “Together, we will create a leading ingredients and solutions provider with a broader set of capabilities to meet our customers’ evolving needs.”
The combined company will be headquartered in New York, with Fibig remaining chairman and CEO. The board will include seven directors from IFF and six from DuPont, until the annual meeting in 2022, when the board will be evened out at six directors from each. Ed Breen, DuPont’s executive chairman, will join the board and serve as lead independent director starting June 1, 2021.
“DuPont and IFF share long and successful histories of customer-driven innovation and cultures of excellence, which is why I am confident that N&B will be well-positioned for its next phase of growth,” Breen said in a statement. “… We conducted a very thorough process leading us to the selection of IFF as the preferred strategic partner for N&B.”
The deal, which is subject to customary approvals and conditions, is expected to close by the end of the first quarter in 2021.
