CSM NV (CSM) agreed to sell its bakery supplies unit to Rhone Capital LLC for 1.05 billion euros ($1.36 billion) including debt, ending a 10-month search for a buyer as it seeks to focus on bio-based ingredients.
The net cash proceeds will be about 850 million euros, with the remainder coming from pension liabilities being transferred with the business, Diemen, Netherlands-based CSM said today.
The price is “more or less in line with expectations,” said Richard Withagen, an analyst at SNS Securities in Amsterdam, who rates CSM a buy and expects some of the proceeds to be returned to investors. With CSM’s focus on its remaining divisions “it’s a completely new chapter in the business.”
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