Global food and beverage ingredients manufacturer Ingredion offered conditionally $3.7 billion (£2.74 billion) to acquire British ingredients maker Tate & Lyle in a deal that would unite two of the industry’s largest players, the companies announced Thursday.
Under the proposal, Ingredion would pay Tate & Lyle shareholders a value up to 615 pence per share, the London-based ingredients company said.
That includes a combination of 595 pence in cash and the right to receive a final dividend for the financial year ended March 31, 2026, of up to 13 pence per share and an interim dividend for the six months ended Sept. 30, 2026, of up to 7 pence per share.
The news caused Tate & Lyle’s share price to spike by 45% on Thursday, jumping from 376.2 pence to 545 pence per share.
“The proposal follows a number of earlier approaches from Ingredion to the Board regarding a possible offer for Tate & Lyle,” Tate & Lyle noted in a press statement. “The Board and Ingredion are in discussions regarding the proposal.”
With Ingredion’s market capitalization of $6.51 billion, the $3.7 billion deal would create an ingredient manufacturing powerhouse of $10.38 billion.
Expansion for Ingredion
The Tate & Lyle acquisition would follow a series of growth strategies by Ingredion, which launched a $2.4 billion global texture and healthful solutions segment in early 2024 as part of a broader reorganization.
Ingredion EVP and CFO Jim Gray said in February 2025 that the company is working to capitalize on consumer trends that offer higher selling prices and margins.
That includes five food categories where texture is key: savory, dairy, bakery, snacks and beverage.
“Texture is omnipresent in our consciousness as a consideration for a food purchase or preference, and food companies are increasingly recognizing the opportunity that this represents and the opportunity for texture innovation is global,” Gray said at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) conference in early 2025.
Ingredion also announced plans in early 2025 to invest $100 million into development of its texture and healthful solutions facility in Indianapolis, Ind.
Ingredion is a global ingredients company specializing in sweeteners, starches, nutrition ingredients and biomaterials. The acquisition would bring in Tate & Lyle’s specialty food and beverage solutions business, which includes sweetening, mouthfeel and fortification.
If approved, Tate & Lyle would not be Ingredion’s only acquisition of a sweetener producers. The company also purchased a 75% controlling stake in PureCircle, a supplier of stevia, in 2020.
Ingredion is required to make a formal offer by June 11, 2026.
Tate & Lyle’s long pivot away from sugar
Once synonymous with sugar, Tate & Lyle has transformed itself into a sugar reduction leader with a portfolio of specialty ingredients that make it an appealing acquisition given modern consumers’ focus on better-for-you ingredients.
Tate & Lyle acquires US-based stevia supplier Sweet Green Fields – Tate & Lyle has acquired Washington state-based stevia supplier Sweet Green Fields (SGF), strengthening the global ingredients company’s stevia solutions and capabilities by creating a fully-integrated supply chain along with unified research and development efforts to accelerate stevia product innovation.
Tate & Lyle spins off industrial sweeteners, starches division to focus on specialty food and beverage solutions – Tate & Lyle has struck a $1.3bn deal to sell a controlling stake in its 'Primary Products' industrial sweeteners and starches business in the Americas to private equity firm KPS Capital Partners, as it focuses on specialty sweeteners, fibers, texturants and other high-value food and beverage ingredients.
Tate & Lyle bets big on chickpea protein, flour with deal to acquire Nutriati – Tate & Lyle – a global ingredients company best known for sweeteners, fibers and texturizing ingredients – has moved into the burgeoning plant-based protein arena with a deal to acquire Virginia-based chickpea protein and flour company Nutriati, six months after striking a deal to distribute its ingredients.
Tate & Lyle adds Erytesse erythritol to sweeteners portfolio – Tate & Lyle has expanded its sweeteners toolbox with Erytesse erythritol, which provides 70% of the sweetness of sucrose, a similar temporal profile and zero calories.
Path to wellness: Chinese demands for healthier products outstripping other Asia markets – To fulfil these market demands, Tate & Lyle has acquired a leading prebiotic dietary fibre business in China, Quantum Hi-Tech in Guangdong, a subsidiary of ChemPartner Pharmatech (ChemPartner), at a total consideration of $237m recently.
Customer innovation driving Tate & Lyle volume growth in strong H1 financials – The sale of the remaining 49.7% stake in Premient joint venture added value to the business, completed at the end of June, with cash proceeds of $350m.
Tate & Lyle acquires CP Kelco – Tate & Lyle was once a major player in sugar. Now, over a decade after it spun-off its sugar business, it's continuing to invest in sugar reduction technologies with the buyout of CP Kelco.
