Big merger creates a new leader

Article Excerpt

IFF has now completed its merger with the nutrition and biosciences business of DuPont. This follows another major purchase—the company’s 2018 acquisition of Israeli flavouring maker Frutarom. As we often remind investors, using acquisitions to expand adds risk. However, these two purchases have transformed IFF into the world’s leading supplier of food and fragrance compounds—its annual revenue is now 56% more than its next-largest competitor. Savings from the merger and pressure from an activist investor will also unlock more value for shareholders. INTERNATIONAL FLAVORS & FRAGRANCES INC. $136 is a buy. The company (New York symbol IFF; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 248.7 million; Market cap: $33.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 6.7; Dividend yield: 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.iff.com) makes compounds that improve the taste of food and the smell of consumer products. In October 2018, IFF acquired Frutarom, an Israeli firm that makes over 70,000 flavouring products for over 30,000 customers in 150 countries. About 75% of those products come from natural sources…