Naturex
Naturex is a botanicals company that produces and sells plant extracts to the food industry for flavoring, coloring, or preservative purposes. For example, it purchases crops such as maca from growers in Peru, extracts it into a concentrate, then sells that concentrate to companies that produce maca products for the general market. The company is based in Avignon, France with offices and production facilities across Europe, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Morocco, and India. History. The company was founded in 1992 by Jacques Dikansky, who served as CEO until his death in 2012. Thierry Lambert took over as CEO  until 2014, when he was replaced by Olivier Rigaud. Company revenues exceeded $125 million in 2007. In 2014, the company recorded four quarters of negative growth, then 4% growth in first half of 2015 after new CEO Olivier Rigaud joined the company in October 2014. In 2015, Europe was 50% of the company’s business, the U.S. market was 40%, and 10% in emerging markets. The company had over 1700 employees. In 2018, Naturex was acquired by Swiss company Givaudan SA for $1.6 billion, a 42 percent premium over the stock price. Acquisitions. During his 20 years as  CEO, Dikansky expanded the company by opening new offices and acquiring other companies. In 1997, the company opened a subsidiary in Mamaroneck, New York to handle its United States business. In 2003, the company acquired Brucia Plant extracts, a U.S. company that caused its net profits to quadruple to almost a million euros. In 2004, it purchased the rosemary extracts business of Hauser and RFI Ingredients. Naturex bought another U.S. company in 2005: Pure World, Inc., for approximately $36.8 million. In 2007, the company bought Hammer Pharma, an Italian plant extracts company, for 10 million euros. That same year , it bought U.S.-based Chart Corporation, which produced flavoring plant extracts. In 2008, the company bought the active ingredients division of Berkem, including botanical extracts such as the green coffee extract, Svetol. The next year, Naturex acquired the ingredients division of Natraceutical, which made the company one of the world’s largest producers of pectin. In 2011, the company acquired Pektowin, one of Poland’s major producers of fruit and vegetable-based juice concentrates. It also purchased European plant extract manufacturer Burgundy. The company expanded into India in 2012, with its purchase of Valentine, a producer of fruit and vegetable powders . That same year, it bought U.S.-based cranberry extract company Decas Botanical Synergies. In 2014, the company bought Vegetable Juices Inc., which sold vegetable ingredients such as concentrates, juices, purees, and dices. That same year, it bought the yucca and quillaia foaming agents business of Berghausen to use in beverage formulas. In 2017, the company acquired some parts of Halliburton International Foods. It also acquired Swedish Oat Fiber, a manufacturer of oat-based extracts and ingredients such as oat beta-glucans.