Latham Advises on Financing for IFF’s Agreement to Sell Its Food Ingredients Business to CVC

IFF (NYSE: IFF), a global leader in flavors, fragrances, food ingredients, and health and biosciences, has announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its Food Ingredients business to funds advised by CVC Capital Partners, a leading global private markets manager, in a transaction that values the business at approximately US$4.3 billion, representing an enterprise value-to-EBITDA multiple of approximately 10x. As part of the transaction, IFF has chosen to retain an approximately 10% minority equity interest in the business, or approximately US$200 million, permitting continued collaboration and cooperation between IFF and Food Ingredients and allowing IFF and its shareholders to participate in future value creation under its new ownership. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the second quarter of 2027, subject to applicable information and/or consultation requirements and customary closing conditions.

Latham & Watkins LLP represented the financing sources supporting the transaction with a team led by partners Jesse Sheff, Erika Weinberg, Dan Seale, Michele Penzer, Keith Halverstam, Alfred Xue, Brandon Anderson, Nicole Fanjul, Jason Bosworth, Conray Tseng, Joydeep Choudhuri, and Danielle Brown, with counsels Katherine Page, Seung-Ju Paik, and Shahid Jamil and associates Julio Martinez Rivas, Jake Ibrahim, Kai Yeo, Angela Lin, Ted Bantle, Kayla Matthews, Mike Harris, Ana Nunez, Jade Lee, Tian Lin, Dorian Refloc’h, Carlos Ibarguengoitia, Francois Lalande, and Ben Silverstone. Advice was also provided on executive compensation, employment, and benefits matters by partner Benjamin Rosemergy, with associate Kevin Matheny; on FDA matters by counsel Chad Jennings; on IP matters by associate Victoria Allen; on data privacy and cyber security matters by associate Zac Alpert; on environmental matters by associate Brian McCall; and on compliance matters by partner Andrew Galdes, with associates Eric Green and Stephen Keith.