ICL Food Specialties, a business unit of ICL, has agreed to acquire European dairy proteins producer Prolactal for an undisclosed amount.
Prolactal produces and sells a wide range of functional dairy proteins that are used in the beverage, dairy and meat industries to stabilize and improve the nutrition of beverages and foods processed under a variety of conditions.
It employs around 200 people and operates two plants utilizing advanced production process technology, which is capable of complete fractionation of milk.
Prolactal generated around €100m in annual revenues during the year 2014.
ICL president & CEO Stefan Borgas said: "Our acquisition of Prolactal, one of Europe's leading dairy protein businesses, is a key milestone in our 'Next Step Forward' strategy, through which we continue to strengthen and grow our core businesses in the food, agriculture and engineered materials markets.
"This acquisition will help us to build our Food Specialties unit into an integrated, global producer of unique, advanced value-added solutions for the beverage, dairy and meat industries, benefiting from our uniquely broad range of ingredients as well as from our backward integration and advanced technological know-how.
"We will leverage these capabilities to meet the evolving needs of our existing clients and to enter targeted fast-growing food and nutrition markets, including the dynamically changing markets of China, the Far East and the EU."
The acquisition, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2015, also includes Prolactal's subsidiary Rovita.
The combination of ICL's existing phosphate capabilities and Prolactal's protein capabilities will enable ICL to cater to its existing clients by offering them a broader selection of texture and stability ingredients, including Prolactal's 'Prolactal' and 'Rovita' product lines.
Image: Prolactal operates two plants utilizing state-of-the-art production process technology capable of complete fractionation of milk. Photo: courtesy of SOMMAI / freedigitalphotos.
