The Muscle Mag
The acquisition includes dsm-firmenich’s marine lipids fish oil omega-3 business for the food and beverage, dietary supplement and pharma markets, along with the MEG-3 brand and production facilities in Piura, Peru and Mulgrave, Canada.
As part of the transaction, dsm-firmenich will obtain a minority stake of 29% in KD Pharma’s parent company O³ Holding GmbH.
Oscar Groet, CEO of the KD Pharma Group, stated, “We are excited to welcome dsm-firmenich’s marine lipids portfolio into the KD Pharma Group, which aligns perfectly with our strategic vision of being technology leaders in lipids and enhancing our ability to innovate and deliver exceptional value to our customers.”
dsm-firmenich revealed that the MEG-3 business had sales of approximately €170 million in 2023, with around 200 employees who will transition to KD Pharma.
The completion of the transaction is expected towards the end of 2024, pending customary regulatory approvals.
Building a portfolio
The deal expands KD Pharma Group‘s lipids CDMO business and will create a “well-equipped market player in marine lipids by combining the best of the two companies and respective expertise, with the scale of dsm-firmenich’s Piura and Mulgrave sites and the high concentration capability of the KD Pharma Group company”, as stated by KD Pharma in a press release.
DSM acquired the MEG-3 fish oil business through the purchase of Ocean Nutrition Canada (ONC) in 2012 for C$540 million. This acquisition followed DSM’s acquisition of Martek Biosciences Corporation’s algae platform for around $1 billion in 2011.
Adam Ismail, KD Pharma’s chief strategy officer, confirmed that the acquisition includes part of what was the ONC business but clarified that the deal does not include the powder manufacturing that ONC had in the U.S.
dsm-firmenich will continue to provide MEG-3 fish oils for the early life nutrition markets as well as MEG-3 powders. Furthermore, dsm-firmenich’s algae business is not included in the agreement.
Regarding the size of the combined business, Ismail mentioned, “DSM was the largest in terms of volume already by itself, so with KD we would be the largest manufacturer of omega-3 fish oils.”
