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IFF prepares to sell food ingredients business to CVC

With IFF set to sell its food ingredients division to CVC Capital Partners for €3.7 billion, we look at how mergers, acquisitions, and divestments are shaping the sector.

As part of the €3.7 billion transaction, IFF will retain an approximately 10% minority equity interest in the business, valued at €173 million, which will allow it to continue ongoing discussions and collaborations.

Through the sale of its food ingredients business to CVC, IFF aims to strengthen its focus on its innovation-driven businesses in the taste, scent, and health and bioscience segments. It hopes the sale will improve its cash flow, provide greater financial flexibility, and strengthen its position to achieve its growth and profitability objectives.

Reshaping IFF’s food portfolio

The billion-dollar deal will see the major player reshape its portfolio around higher-growth, higher-margin core businesses. It is a trend that has defined the food ingredients sector in recent years.

“IFF has been the most active, divesting a string of assets in the wake of its transformational merger with DuPont's Nutrition & Biosciences business in 2021 and its earlier acquisition of Frutarom in 2018,” Oliver North, director at Oghma Partners, a finance advisory firm specialising in the European food and beverage sector, told Ingredients Network.

IFF’s agreement with CVC is its latest big-money deal. Previous divestments have included IFF’s fruit preparation business to Frulact in 2021, its Savory Solutions Group (now NovaTaste) to PAI Partners in 2022, and its Flavour Speciality Ingredients business (now Natara) to Exponent in 2023. It also sold its soy protein concentrates, lecithin and crushes businesses to Bunge in 2025.

Flurry of activity in food ingredients

Despite fears about inflation and uncertain global supply chains, the current merger and acquisition (M&A) landscape in the food ingredients industry is lively, with numerous big-name deals taking place. “The food ingredients sector remains extremely active and has seen a flurry of significant high-profile M&A activity in recent months,” said North​

Ingredion has tabled a €3.1billion takeover proposal for Tate & Lyle, with a firm offer deadline of 11th June 2026. If it goes ahead, the deal would create a major global platform in texture, mouthfeel, and sugar reduction.

Döhler moved to take full ownership of natural extracts house Treatt in April 2026 in a €212 million deal at a 47% premium. The agreement came after the company’s steady accumulation of a stake since late 2025, following Natara's failed takeover attempt.

Nexture, the Investindustrial-backed ingredients group, acquired Portuguese fruit-ingredients specialist Frulact, bringing its combined platform to €1.1 billion in revenue across 24 factories globally.

“Beyond the headline transactions, activity at the smaller end of the market remains equally elevated,” said North.

Shaking up food activities

Divestments are also common, with several leading food-ingredient companies transforming their organisational structures in this way. Similar to how IFF is with CVC, Symrise pruned its non-core assets, divesting its natural colours business to EQT's Oterra in 2021, carving out 51% of its UK fruit ingredients trading business to Th. Geyer in a joint venture in 2024.

Kerry Group has undergone a significant structural transformation, pivoting toward a pure-play taste and nutrition business by exiting consumer foods, meats and dairy. Within ingredients, it is increasingly focusing on bioactives, enzymes, and biopreservation, as illustrated by the €502m sale of its sweet ingredients portfolio to IRCA, backed by Advent International in 2023.

DSM-Firmenich, formed from the merger of Royal DSM and Firmenich in 2023, has followed a similar path, divesting its yeast extract business to Lesaffre and its marine lipids business to KD Pharma Group in 2024. Then, in February 2026, the company completed the €2.2bn sale of its Animal Nutrition & Health division to CVC, to focus on nutrition, health and beauty.

“In this context, the CVC/IFF Food Ingredients deal is a continuation of a well-established pattern rather than a departure from it,” said North.

The agreement illustrates the growing role of private equity as the natural acquirer of these carved-out platforms, often substantial, cash-generative businesses that no longer fit within larger strategic portfolios.

“CVC in particular has been active in this space,” said North. The company also acquired DSM-Firmenich's Animal Nutrition & Health division earlier in 2026, suggesting that private equity is not merely a passive recipient of these assets but actively seeks them out.

Private equity is a defining feature in food M&As

However, the sector remains highly fragmented.

“This structural characteristic continues to drive deal activity as both trade buyers and private equity-backed platforms seek to consolidate capabilities, geographies, and customer relationships,” said North.

Furthermore, private equity has become an increasingly prominent force in the sector, engaging in activities beyond buying carved-out corporate assets. Private equity-backed platforms are driving buy-and-build strategies at scale, with Nexture (Investindustrial) and Nactarome (TA Associates) among these.

“The sector is appealing to private equity as speciality ingredients businesses typically combine sticky, long-term customer relationships, underpinned by deep formulation integration and high switching costs, with strong margins and cash-generative operating models,” North added.

Private equity activity looks set to remain a defining feature of the ingredients M&A landscape in 2026 and beyond.