Milan, Italy—Indena has reached an agreement to sell its cosmetics business to Givaudan, according to a press release. Part of the agreement includes a manufacturing and innovation partnership in order to maintain a key role in the active cosmetics industry.

Indena will continue to manufacture ingredients for Givaudan and to provide innovation capabilities and other supporting services. This partnership, the release says, will allow both companies to enhance their capabilities and focus on their respective core competencies.
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Daniele Giavini, Managing Director of Indena, said in the release: “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. 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… 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.”

Maurizio Volpi, President of Givaudan’s Fragrance Division, added: “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 cosmetics ingredients industry.”

The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2020.