Chr. Hansen Holding A/S acquires Jennewein Biotechnologie GmbH to enter and lead the high-growth Human Milk Oligosaccharides market
22 September 2020 12:06
COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT NO.21/2020
Chr. Hansen Holding A/S (“Chr. Hansen”) has today entered into an agreement to acquire all of the shares of Jennewein Biotechnologie GmbH (“Jennewein”), which is a leading player in the Human Milk Oligosaccharides (“HMO”) market. The acquisition is fully in line with Chr. Hansen’s 2025 Strategy of pursuing bolt-on acquisitions that extend and strengthen its microbial and fermentation technology platforms.
- The acquisition of Jennewein strengthens and expands Chr. Hansen’s microbial and fermentation technology platforms by adding the emerging and exciting, high-growth business area of human milk oligosaccharides
- HMOs are essential groups of milk sugars which are naturally occurring in human breast milk and which nurture the infant microbiome (including bacteria with a probiotic effect)
- Functional ingredients, especially HMOs and probiotics, are driving the premiumization trend in infant formula and there is a significant potential to increase the penetration of these two ingredients, and also to create synergistic blends in the future
- HMOs are produced industrially by fermentation, which is a core capability of Chr. Hansen
- Jennewein is recognized as a global leader in the HMO market with six commercialized HMOs, a strong product pipeline, a global customer base and a strong IP portfolio of more than 200 patents granted in key markets
- The company has around 100 employees headquartered in Bonn, Germany, with production partly outsourced to contract manufacturers
- The addressable market for HMOs is estimated to be more than EUR 400 million by 2025, and more than EUR 1 billion long-term, with Chr. Hansen now poised to be a leading supplier
- Strong investment case for Chr. Hansen to unlock significant scalability benefits in fermentation and drive efficiencies by leveraging Chr. Hansen’s production know-how
- Chr. Hansen plans to invest more than EUR 200 million in production assets until 2025, including an investment in a brown-field factory, to expand HMO capacity to supply the expected demand, a meaningful part of which has already been secured through long-term contracts
- Chr. Hansen’s long-term financial ambition is unchanged.
Please read the full announcement in the attached document.
Conference call
Chr. Hansen will host a conference call on September 22, 2020 at 13:00 CEST. The conference call will take 30 minutes and can be accessed via www.chr‐hansen.com/investors.
For further information, please contact:
Martin Riise, Head of Investor Relations, Tel: +45 5339 2250
Annika Stern, Investor Relations Officer, Tel: +45 2399 2382
Camilla Lercke, Head of Media Relations, Tel: +45 5339 2384
About Jennewein Biotechnologie GmbH
Jennewein Biotechnologie is a leading international industrial biotechnology company with a range of products in the field of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) and rare monosaccharides such as L-Fucose and Sialic acid. The company manufactures an extensive portfolio of innovative HMO products, such as 2′ fucosyllactose, 3′-fucosyllactose, Lacto-N-neotetraose, and lacto-N-tetraose. These rare sugars are used in the food industry (particularly infant milk formulas), the pharmaceutical industry, and the cosmetic industry.
About Chr. Hansen
Chr. Hansen is a leading, global bioscience company that develops natural ingredient solutions for the food, nutritional, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. We develop and produce cultures, enzymes, probiotics and natural colors for a rich variety of foods, confectionery, beverages, dietary supplements and even animal feed and plant protection. Our product innovation is based on around 40,000 microbial strains – we like to refer to them as ‘good bacteria’. Our solutions enable food manufacturers to produce more with less – while also reducing the use of chemicals and other synthetic additives – which make our products highly relevant in today’s world. Sustainability is an integral part of Chr. Hansen’s vision to improve food and health. In 2019 Chr. Hansen was ranked as the world’s most sustainable company by Corporate Knights thanks to our strong sustainability efforts and our many collaborative partnerships with our customers. We have been delivering value to our partners – and, ultimately, end consumers worldwide – for over 140 years. We are proud that more than one billion people consume products containing our natural ingredients every day.
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