Transaction - Benefits Customers, Drives Growth Synergies & Significant Savings for Both Companies

CHICAGO, April 13 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ingredion Incorporated (INGR: NYSE) and PureCircle Limited (LSE: PURE), have announced today that they have reached agreement on the terms for Ingredion to acquire a controlling 75% stake in PureCircle, one of the leading producers and innovators of stevia sweeteners for the global food and beverage industries.  Ingredion is a leading global provider of plant-based ingredient solutions to diversified industries.

The proposed acquisition has been approved by the boards of both companies. The companies expect the transaction to close during the second half of 2020 subject to approval by PureCircle’s shareholders and receipt of the required regulatory approvals. Until then, Ingredion and PureCircle will remain separate, independent companies with separate product portfolios and go-to-market teams.

Sugar reduction is one of Ingredion’s five specialties growth platforms and Ingredion is committed to invest in its growth.  Stevia is a core product for the sugar reduction portfolio. 

Ingredion has followed the development of PureCircle for several years and believes that it is a fundamentally strong and attractive business that will be a great fit with Ingredion's long-term strategy, given PureCircle's leadership position in this space.  Beyond its leadership in the market, PureCircle brings unrivalled innovation and manufacturing expertise related to stevia.  Upon completion, both companies will be able to build on these strengths and PureCircle will be able to leverage on Ingredion’s global go to market network, as well as its formulation expertise and broad product portfolio will drive both growth synergies, as well as significant savings to both companies

Further, both Ingredion and PureCircle have a proud legacy and share a similar culture.

PureCircle has demonstrated its leadership in the stevia industry through:

· High-quality, great tasting, innovative stevia sweeteners and flavor modifiers supported by full vertical integration from a global network of agricultural partners
· R&D and innovation to produce a growing variety of stevia sweeteners with sugar-like taste to become a resource and collaborative partner for food and beverage companies
· Advanced plant breeding to deliver optimal economics and the best tasting components of the stevia leaf
· Investing in research and development to obtain the grant of over 214 stevia-related patents with more than 300 applied for patents pending
· Expansion and investment in new manufacturing technologies, including the latest expansion of its Malaysian stevia extract facility in 2017

Upon completion of the proposed acquisition, together, Ingredion and PureCircle will bring their customers key technologies that solve many complex formulation challenges faced by food and beverage developers today. PureCircle’s leadership in stevia, combined with Ingredion’s extensive portfolio of texturizers and functional build-back ingredients and expertise in formulating in a wide range of food applications will provide the full suite of complementary ingredients and integrated solutions to solve the sugar reduction challenges of food and beverage companies.

“PureCircle is a widely recognized innovator with a proven track record for producing great-tasting, plant-based stevia. Ingredion’s successful and global go-to-market model combined with our formulation expertise will be highly complementary with PureCircle’s capabilities,” said Ingredion’s president and chief executive officer Jim Zallie.

“We have tremendous respect for the business that PureCircle has built for nearly two decades and are excited to welcome them to the Ingredion family. We are ready to support this new phase of growth with stevia’s on-trend and sustainable solutions,” concluded Zallie.

“We at PureCircle are glad to have found a strong partner in Ingredion who shares our mission of encouraging healthy diets around the world and being the preferred supplier of high-purity, great-tasting stevia ingredients for the global food and beverage industry,” said Peter Lai Hock Meng, CEO of PureCircle. “This acquisition should excite the current and potential customers of both companies, as the combined companies will be able to serve our customers with better services, wider product range and extend deeper into the global, regional and local markets.”

Enquiries:

Alina Slotnik, Vice President of Marketing
Email: alina.slotnik@purecircle.com

Jackson Pillow, Global Communications Manager
Email:  Jackson.Pillow@purecircle.com  Phone: +1 630 256 8394

About PureCircle

· PureCircle is the only company that combines advanced R&D with full vertical integration from farm to high-quality, great-tasting innovative stevia sweeteners.
· The Company collaborates with farmers who grow the stevia plants and with food and beverage companies which seek to improve their low- and no-calorie formulations using a sweetener from plants.
· PureCircle will continue to: lead in research, development and innovation; produce a growing supply of multiple varieties of stevia sweeteners with sugar-like taste, using all necessary and appropriate methods of production; and be a resource and innovation partner for food and beverage companies.
· PureCircle stevia flavor modifiers work in synergy with sweeteners to improve the taste, mouthfeel and calorie profile, and enhance the cost effectiveness, of beverage and food products.
· Founded in 2002, PureCircle is continually investing in breakthrough research and development and it has been granted over 214 stevia-related patents with more than 300 applied for patents pending.
· PureCircle has offices around the world with the global headquarters in Chicago, Illinois.
· To meet growing demand for stevia sweeteners, PureCircle is rapidly ramping up its supply capability. It completed expansion of its Malaysian stevia extract facility in March 2017, increasing its capacity to rapidly supply the newer and great-tasting specialty stevia sweeteners and helping provide ever-increasing value to its customers.
· PureCircle’s shares are listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.
· For more information, visit: www.purecircle.com

About stevia

· Given the growing global concerns about obesity and diabetes, beverage and food companies are working responsibly to reduce sugar and calories in their products, responding to both consumers and health and wellness advocates. Sweeteners from the stevia plant offer sugar-like taste and are becoming an increasingly important tool for these companies. 
· Like sugar, stevia sweeteners are from plants. But unlike sugar, they enable low-calorie and zero-calorie formulations of beverages and foods.
· Stevia leaf extract is a natural-based, zero calorie, high-intensity sweetener, used by global food and beverage companies as a great-tasting zero-calorie alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners.
· Stevia is a naturally sweet plant native to South America; today, it is grown around the world, notably in Kenya, China and the US.
· The sweet-tasting parts of the stevia leaf are up to 350 times sweeter than sugar: stevia’s high-intensity sweetness means it requires far less water and land than sugar.
· Research has shown that the molecules of the stevia leaf are present and unchanged in the dried stevia leaf, through the commercial extraction and purification process, and in the final stevia leaf extract product. All major global regulatory organisations, across 65 countries, have approved the use of high-purity stevia leaf extracts in food and beverages.
· For more information on the science of stevia, please visit https://www.purecirclesteviainstitute.com/

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at 
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/84b6e8be-b4ae-4b9a-8889-99fbedc4f082

SOURCE: PureCircle

--BERNAMA