22 August 2008 – The sale of Danisco's sugar division will allow the group to focus on its food ingredient business and biotech activities, Danisco Chairman Anders Knutsen said at the company's annual general meeting.
The sale of Danisco Sugar to Nordzucker is the final change in a series of structural upheavals spanning the last ten to eleven years. “The Danisco you see today […] is the Danisco we will build on for many years to come,” Mr Knutsen told his company's shareholders. “We are done with selling off”, he emphasised.
Danisco is willing to “run greater risks than previously” in order to achieve growth and increased earnings, the Danisco Chairman added, before highlighting the importance of Danisco’s food ingredient segment. The company will focus on health-promoting products in a bid to meet customer demand. The group aims to become one of the world’s top three companies in the fast growing “Health & Nutrition” segment and is prepared to consider partnership agreements and acquisitions to that end, Mr Knutsen said.
The Board of Directors recommended that Danisco shareholders approve the sale of Danisco Sugar to Nordzucker. Should they choose not to do so, or should the Danish and/or German competition authorities not approve the transaction, an independent stock exchange listing or other alternatives would be considered, added Mr Knutsen.