Under the terms of the deal, Treatt shareholders will receive 260p in cash for each share, a 16.1% premium on the firm’s share price on 5 September 2025. The offer was unanimously recommended by the Treatt board.
Like Treatt, Natara specialises in manufacturing ingredients for firms across a range of sectors including food and drink. It has sites in the UK, US and China.
Natara was acquired in 2023 by private equity firm Exponent, a European business which said it has been “following Treatt for some time and has long admired its strong heritage”.
However, Treatt has recently faced a number of material headwinds which have impacted its operational and financial performance and subsequently have led to the sale. These headwinds include competitive pressures, softening US consumer confidence, input cost inflation, high citrus oil prices and slower-than-expected conversion of sales opportunities.
Commenting on the deal, Treatt chair Vijay Thakrar said that he was immensely proud of the strong position that the firm has built in the flavours and fragrance market to date.
“Our business is defined by specialist capabilities, an enviable reputation for quality and innovation, long-standing customer relationships, and our extremely talented, dedicated teams,” Thakrar continued.
“While we have a clear strategy to capture these growth opportunities, a combination with Natara would provide the investment and scale that will enable us to do this faster, more extensively, and with lower execution risk than we could achieve on a standalone basis. It would bring together two highly complementary businesses and expand our reach and product offering significantly - positioning Treatt, our people, and our customers for long-term success.”
Yoram Knoop, chief executive officer of Natara, added: “By combining with Treatt, we will be strongly positioned to continue our growth journey. The combination of Natara and Treatt will bring together two complementary businesses, expanding our product portfolio, accelerating our capability in innovation and delivering an enhanced customer proposition globally.”
