Indena, the Italian company leader in identification, development and production of high quality active principles derived from plants, for use in the pharmaceutical, health-food and personal care industries, has reached an agreement to sell its cosmetics business to Givaudan, the global leader in the creation of flavours and fragrances. In order to sustain this acquisition process, the two historical and market leading companies are entering a manufacturing and innovation partnership to support a key role in the active cosmetics industry.

Headquartered in Switzerland with local presence in almost 150 locations, Givaudan is the global leader in Active Beauty and in the creation of flavours and fragrances. In close collaboration with cosmetics, food and beverage, consumer product and fragrance partners, Givaudan develops ingredients that delight consumers all over the world.

“We believe that Givaudan, with its very long history and tradition in innovating taste and scent, coupled with its strong commercial presence, is the right partner to further strengthen this business in the future – says Daniele Giavini, Managing Director of Indena – Givaudan’s culture and its knowledge of natural cosmetic ingredients, as well as the use of the latest sustainable biotechnologies to create high performing functional products, fit well with the philosophy we have consistently adopted at Indena throughout our history. We are in favour of this transaction, as it enables Indena to focus on its core markets, Pharmaceuticals and Health-food, whilst continuing to support the cosmetic ingredients business which has been a valuable part of our portfolio”.

Based on the long term partnership agreement signed by Indena and Givaudan, Indena will continue to manufacture ingredients for Givaudan and to provide innovation capabilities and other supporting services. This partnership will allow both companies to enhance their capabilities and to focus on their respective core competencies, a win-win strategy to the benefit of customers and consumers.

Maurizio Volpi, President of Givaudan’s Fragrance Division says: “The acquisition of the cosmetics business of Indena fits very well with our long term strategy for Active Beauty. They have an excellent reputation in the market, thanks to the quality of their ingredients, their strong focus on innovation as well as the mastering of their supply chain. It offers Active Beauty an expanded portfolio of plant based ingredients that nicely complement our current portfolio. We are very confident that the acquisition will further enhance our position as a leading player in the active cosmetic ingredients industry.”

The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2020.