DuPont to purchase Danisco for $5.8 billion

[January 10, 2011]  WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) --  DuPont Co. says it is buying Danish food ingredients maker Danisco A/S for $5.8 billion as it looks to broaden its food and biofuels operations.

The deal has a total value of $6.3 billion, which includes the assumption of $500 million in debt.

E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. CEO Ellen Kullman said in a statement late Sunday that Danisco is complementary to DuPont's biosciences business.

Danisco, based in Copenhagen, Denmark, makes enzyme and specialty food ingredients. Its ingredients are used in a wide range of industries from bakery, dairy and beverages to animal feed, laundry detergents and bioethanol. The company has nearly 7,000 employees.

The acquisition is expected to close early in the second quarter and add to DuPont's 2012 earnings. The chemical maker, based in Wilmington, Del., says it will pay for the acquisition with about $3 billion in cash and the rest in debt.

[Associated Press]

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