Acquisitions · Food ingredients (flavors)
T. Hasegawa buys California flavor maker Mission for about ¥13.3 billion
- Buyer
- T. Hasegawa (via T. Hasegawa USA) (Tokyo)
- Target
- Mission Flavors & Fragrances, Foothill Ranch, California
- Value
- About ¥13.3B (about $128M)
- Status
- Completed December 29, 2020.
- Date
- 2020-12-22
Flavor maker T. Hasegawa bought Mission Flavors & Fragrances, a custom flavor company founded in 1987 in Southern California, through its US subsidiary. T. Hasegawa did not announce the price in English, but its Japanese filing put it at about ¥13.3 billion. Mission is strong in natural, low-sugar and low-fat flavors and keeps its plant in Foothill Ranch.
Why it matters
T. Hasegawa has made flavors in the US for over 40 years; Mission's customers barely overlap with its own, giving it more of the US dairy, bakery and plant-based markets.
A high price
Mission had sales of about ¥2.52 billion and a small operating loss before the deal, so T. Hasegawa paid more than five times its yearly sales. In 2017 T. Hasegawa had bought another California flavor company, Flavor Ingredient Holdings, to move into health products and drinks.
What both sides said
Tom Damiano, chief executive of T. Hasegawa USA in Cerritos, said the deal widened its technical skills and flavor range and that it welcomed Mission's whole team. Mission president Patrick Imburgia said Mission's customers would gain from T. Hasegawa's technology in flavor modulation and thermal processing, and from its supply chain know-how.
Sources
Kakehashi M&A News home
