Frutarom acquires Florida citrus specialist CitraSource

26-Feb-2014 - Last updated on 26-Feb-2014 at 11:45 GMT

Frutarom has acquired Florida-based citrus specialist CitraSource for about $7.5m, in an effort to increase its control over the sourcing of raw materials, the company has said.

Israel-headquartered Frutarom Industries Ltd. said the deal also included a further undisclosed payment to CitraSource, depending on its performance from 2014-2018. Last year, CitraSource’s revenues were about $7m, Frutarom said, adding that CitraSource’s R&D and marketing expertise would combine well with Frutarom’s existing citrus knowledge.

President and CEO of Frutarom Ori Yehudai said in a statement that the company is already a citrus specialist, and the acquisition will help the company grow its US citrus business.

“Citrus specialty remains an important part of our business and is considered an important contributor to our success,” he said. “The strengthening of our control over the sourcing of our raw materials (back integration) which CitraSource brings us, will further enhance our leadership position in the market for citrus specialty ingredients and will allow us to expand our product portfolio and provide added value to our customers.”

The acquisition is just the latest in an ongoing string of deals for Frutarom, including four acquisitions completed last year.