Royal DSM to acquire Royal CSK for €150 million

Royal DSM has reached agreement with the shareholders of specialty dairy solutions provider Koninklijke CSK Food Enrichment C.V. (CSK) for the acquisition of a 100% interest in the company for a cash consideration of about €150 million. Subject to customary conditions, the transaction is expected to close before the end of the year.

Dairy is DSM’s single largest segment in food and beverages, and customers are increasingly looking for solution providers with a broad portfolio of offerings and deep expertise, to support them in delivering delicious and sustainable end products to consumers. The combination of DSM’s dairy business and CSK will be even better able to serve those needs, and to address the fast-growing dairy cultures markets.

With the acquisition of CSK, DSM will further strengthen its product portfolio and application know-how and expertise in food and beverage, in particular in the complementary area of taste, texture, and bio-preservation solutions for semi-hard cheeses such as Dutch heritage cheeses gouda and edam. The transaction will include CSK’s dairy application center in Wageningen, the Netherlands. In addition, it will bring its high-tech fermentation facility in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, into DSM’s global manufacturing network, providing additional production capacity for a range of products. CSK generated in 2018 net sales of €65 million with approximately 180 employees, around 150 of whom are based in the Netherlands.

“Today’s dairy needs are constantly changing, and DSM continues to invest in enabling customers to keep satisfying consumer demand, helping them grow their business, while we grow ours in line with our purpose-led, performance-driven strategy. The acquisition of CSK will greatly strengthen our ability to do so,” said Patrick Niels, DSM Food Specialties president.

Press release