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Treatt PLC on Monday said it has agreed to a cash offer from Natara Global Ltd which values the Suffolk, England-based company at £156.6 million. Natara makes ‘aroma ingredients’ for the flavour and fragrance sectors. It is based in Hartlepool, England and majority-owned by the UK and European private equity firm Exponent. Extracts and ingredients manufacturer Treatt said Natara’s bid was for 260 pence cash per share, around 16% higher than Treatt’s 224p closing price on Friday. Treatt shares jumped 18% to 264.05p on Monday morning in London, but have fallen 41% in the last 12 months. Natara’s offer also reflects an 18% premium to Treatt’s average price in the past month of 219.7p per share, and is 40% higher than its 186.4p closing price on July 24, when the firm released a trading update cutting annual guidance. Treatt lowered expectations for the year ending September 30 due to declining sales in the second-half, ‘competitive pressure’, lower US consumer confidence and currency headwinds, as well as ‘sustained high citrus prices’. The ingredients maker anticipates full-year revenue between £130 million and £135 million, versus £153.1 million in 2024, and revised down from a guidance for £146 million to £153 million. Pretax profit before exceptional items is expected between £9 million and £11 million, down from £19.1 million on-year and a previous forecast for £16 million to £18 million. ‘While the Treatt directors recognise that improvements in market dynamics and Treatt’s execution of its evolving strategy should support a recovery in Treatt’s operating and financial performance, they also acknowledge that this could take some time and remains subject to significant uncertainty as to the external factors affecting Treatt’s business and the delivery of internal systems and organisational improvements,’ the company said on Monday. Treatt expects the deal to close in 2025, subject to at least 75% approval from shareholders. Directors with a combined 0.04% have committed to vote for takeover by Natara. The offer is recommended by Treatt’s board, who said it provides ‘sufficient scale to leverage a global salesforce’ through ‘complementary product portfolios and geographic reach’. Chair Vijay Thakrar suggested the deal will enable Treatt to take advantage of growth potential ‘more extensively, and with lower execution risk’. The planned combination is expected to lead to job losses of less than 10% at Natara and Treatt, the latter noted, with Treatt’s non-executive directors leaving the board once the deal comes into effect. According to Exponent, the new company will be based at Treatt’s existing headquarters. News of the takeover proposal comes after Treatt on Friday announced that it has hired Manprit Randhawa from fellow London listing SkinBio Therapeutics PLC as interim chief financial officer. Randhawa is not joining the board, but will help the company find a permanent replacement for outgoing CFO Ryan Govender, who steps down at the end of September. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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