Tate + Lyle: expands business in Latin America

London / UK. (tl) Tate + Lyle PLC, a leading global provider of speciality food ingredients and solutions, is pleased to announce the establishment of a joint venture with Gemacom Tech Indústria e Comércio S.A. through the acquisition by Tate + Lyle of a majority equity interest in Gemacom Tech. Founded in 1990, Gemacom Tech is the leading domestically-owned Food Systems business in Brazil, operating from two blending facilities and laboratories in the state of Minas Gerais, about 200 kilometres north of Rio de Janeiro. Gemacom Tech provides stabilizer systems and ingredient blends for customers across Brazil and some other South American countries, predominantly in the dairy category. The transaction to establish the new joint venture, which will be known as Tate + Lyle Gemacom Tech, was completed on 04 December 2014. Tate + Lyle has an option to acquire the remaining equity interest in Gemacom Tech at a later stage. Gemacom Tech has annual sales of around 30 million USD. Joan Braca, President, Speciality Food Ingredients, Tate + Lyle said: «The combination of Tate + Lyle´s global blending capabilities and recipe know-how with Gemacom Tech´s strong local expertise and infrastructure provides us with an excellent platform on which to grow our Food Systems business in Brazil and across South America». Henrique de Castro Neves, General Manager, Gemacom Tech, who will also be General Manager of Tate + Lyle Gemacom Tech said: «Tate + Lyle and Gemacom Tech are two highly complementary businesses with the same focus on quality and customer service. Together, we will be able to offer our customers a significantly enhanced range of products and technical expertise».