Brenntag UK has had a long relationship with Cargill’s starches and sweeteners business. It was already packaging the sweetener into drums, cans and intermediate bulk containers with a volume of 1000 litres or less, and distributing them to clients in the food manufacturing and animal feed sectors.
Now the distributor has acquired the goodwill of the business – that is, its book value non-related to tangible assets such as the customer base – and is the full owner. The acquisition is expected to strengthen its position in the food industry and expand its offering.
It has, however, signed a long-term supply agreement with Cargill to keep it in supplies of glucose syrup.
The sale “will allow Cargill to focus on providing our bulk sweeteners customers with the most efficient supply chain”, said Martin Douglas, general manager of Cargill’s Manchester business.
Glucose syrup, a liquid obtained from hydrolysis of cornstarch and also known as corn syrup – is a sweetener widely used in the food industry for products including cakes and confectionery. Containing maltose, dextrin, dextrose and other polysaccharides, it is used instead of sucrose but is less sweet.
In addition, the syrup has some texturing properties, such as bulking up ice cream and making candy more pliable.
It is added to animal feed as an energy source.
Financial
Formerly called Albion Chemicals, Brenntag UK is part of the global Brenntag Group which reported sales of €7.4bn in 2008.
Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed. It does not include Cargill’s packaged glucose syrup activities outside the UK or in Ireland; tanker sales of more than 1000 litres are also excluded.