T. Hasegawa's US unit bought all of Abelei, a flavor house founded in 1981 in North Aurora, Illinois, that makes sweet, citrus and fruit flavors for food, drinks, sweets, dairy and nutrition products. The price was about $48 million. About Abelei Abelei is based in North Aurora, west of Chicago. It had sales of about ¥1.21 billion and an operating profit of about ¥326 million, an unusually high margin, so T. Hasegawa paid nearly six times its yearly sales. T. Hasegawa USA chief executive Tom Damiano said the deal widened the company's geographic reach and that it welcomed Abelei's whole team. Sweet meets savory T. Hasegawa USA was set up in 1978 and built its business on savory flavors for snacks, dressings and seasonings. Abelei is strongest in sweet brown flavors such as caramel and vanilla, and in citrus and fruit flavors, so the two product lines barely overlap.
