International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. is weighing a sale of a unit making ingredients for the cosmetics and personal care industry, people with knowledge of the matter said.
IFF is working with an adviser as it explores options for Lucas Meyer Cosmetics, which could be valued at about $1 billion, according to the people who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.
The unit may attract interest from rivals, including UK speciality chemicals group Croda International Plc and European fragrance companies Givaudan SA of Switzerland and Germany’s Symrise AG, they said.
Shares in IFF rose as much as 1.4 percent in early trading on Friday. The stock was up 1 percent at 9:42 a.m. in New York, giving the company a market value of about $21.7 billion.
Deliberations are ongoing, and IFF could opt to keep the business it acquired in 2015, the people said. Representatives for Croda, Givaudan and IFF declined to comment, while a spokesperson for Symrise didn’t immediately provide comment.
IFF cut its full-year outlook earlier this month, with its revised forecast coming in below analyst expectations. The company said it would continue to drive “portfolio optimisation.”
By Aaron Kirchfeld and Ruth David
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