IFF (NYSE: IFF), a global leader in flavors, fragrances, food ingredients, and health and biosciences, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its Food Ingredients business to funds advised by CVC Capital Partners, a leading global private markets manager, in a transaction that values the business at approximately $4.3 billion, representing an enterprise value-to-EBITDA multiple of approximately 10x. As part of the transaction, IFF has chosen to retain an approximately 10% minority equity interest in the business, or approximately $200 million, permitting continued collaboration and cooperation between IFF and Food Ingredients and allowing IFF and its shareholders to participate in future value creation under its new ownership.
The transaction marks a significant step in IFF’s portfolio transformation and is expected to strengthen the company’s focus on its innovation-driven businesses: Taste, Scent, and Health & Biosciences. Following the transaction, IFF will be a more focused company with improved cash flow characteristics, greater financial flexibility, and a stronger position to achieve its growth and profitability objectives.
“This transaction represents an important strategic milestone in our ongoing portfolio optimization initiative, allowing us to further concentrate resources on our higher-growth, higher-margin segments,” said Erik Fyrwald, CEO of IFF. “By simplifying our portfolio to where we can create the greatest value, IFF will accelerate innovation, drive investment in R&D, and further integrate our biotechnology and naturals capabilities more effectively across our global platform. Importantly, by retaining a minority stake in Food Ingredients, we will continue to participate in the future upside of a strong business under dedicated ownership. This transaction creates substantial value for shareholders while positioning IFF to drive sustained, profitable long-term growth.”
IFF’s Food Ingredients business is a globally recognized leader in texturants, emulsifiers, plant-based solutions, and other specialty ingredients serving multinational food and beverage customers. In 2025, the Food Ingredients business that will be divested generated nearly $3.1 billion in annual sales and approximately $430 million of EBITDA.
“We are proud of the strong market positions, customer relationships, and talented team that have made Food Ingredients a strong business,” Fyrwald added. “We are confident CVC is the right owner for its next chapter and that this transaction creates significant value for IFF shareholders while giving Food Ingredients an excellent platform for future success.”
We are delighted to welcome IFF’s Food Ingredients business to CVC’s U.S. portfolio. Its global reach and proprietary technical capabilities provide a clear competitive advantage, and we see significant opportunity for continued growth.
Lorne Somerville Managing Partner and Co-Head of North American Private Equity at CVC
“We are delighted to welcome IFF’s Food Ingredients business to CVC’s U.S. portfolio,” said Lorne Somerville, managing partner and co-head of North American private equity at CVC. “The business has built a strong position in an attractive, resilient sector supported by long-term growth trends, including increasing global food consumption and demand for clean-label products. Its global reach and proprietary technical capabilities provide a clear competitive advantage, and we see significant opportunity for continued growth.”
James Christopoulos, partner at CVC, added: “The Food Ingredients management team has done an exceptional job building a business with meaningful scale and technical depth. We look forward to partnering with the team and with IFF as co-shareholders to accelerate the next phase of growth through scale and commercial expansion.”
“Leveraging the broad technology portfolio of IFF Food Ingredients with strong application-focused development capabilities is incredibly exciting for us and will enable the business to provide customers around the globe with differentiating solutions tailored to their needs across all categories of today’s food production.” said Dr. Thomas Schneider, Managing Director at CVC.
White & Case and Citibank served as advisers on this transaction.