Tate and Lyle reaches sale agreement of American subsidiary

Tate and Lyle has reached agreement with KPS Capital Partners for the sale of its remaining stake in Primient, an American subsidiary of Tate and Lyle. 

The firm said after the sale of its near 50 per cent stake, net cash proceeds, after tax and transactions costs, are expected to be around $270m (£215m). 

The transaction completes the staged exit from Primient  ahead of expiry of the original lock-up period of eight years which lasts until April 2030.  

Nick Hampton, chief executive at Tate and Lyle, said: “I am delighted that we have reached agreement with KPS for the sale of our remaining stake in Primient well ahead of the original lock-up period. 

“This is testament to the relationships we have built with KPS and Primient, and the robust framework for the separation of Primient established two years ago.”

He added:“With this sale, the transformation of Tate & Lyle into a fully-focused speciality food and beverage solutions business is complete. 

“We are now well-positioned to capture the significant growth opportunities ahead as we look to provide our customers with the solutions they need to meet growing consumer demand for healthier, tastier and more sustainable food and drink.”

It comes as the firm announced its final year results in the year ending March 2024. 

Revenue at the producer of sugar was down two per cent to £1.6bn, but adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) grew eight per cent to £218m. 

The London-listed company has faced pressures from rising cost inflation which resulted in lower revenue as it looked to pass through costs to customers. 

Tate and Lyle said this is expected to continue in the first half of the 2025 financial year.

Hampton added: “In challenging market conditions, it’s been another year of robust financial performance and strategic progress, with strong profit growth and productivity delivery, excellent cash generation, and further progress to transform the business.

“The actions taken over the last six years have created a higher quality and more resilient business, with the agility to navigate the challenging economic environment and softer consumer demand we saw last year. “

“While managing these short-term market dynamics, we also continued to set up the business for long-term growth by increasing investment in technology, innovation, solution selling and new capacity, and by intentionally moving away from low margin business. I am particularly pleased by our progress building our solutions business with customers, a core element of our strategy, with solutions new business wins continuing to grow.”

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