DSM to Acquire Ocean Nutrition Canada

Royal DSM (Heerlen, the Netherlands) has entered into an agreement to acquire Canada-based fish oil supplier Ocean Nutrition Canada for CAD 540 million. The transaction is expected to close by the second quarter of this year.

Based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Ocean Nutrition Canada specializes in fish-derived omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, particularly its branded MEG-3 product line. The company has approximately 415 employees and production sites in Canada, the United States, and Peru. Its net sales for 2012 are estimated at CAD 190 million.

DSM says Ocean Nutrition Canada’s fish-derived omega-3 ingredients will add a fish oil component to DSM’s Nutritional Lipids portfolio, which already contains DHA omega-3, thanks to its acquisition of Martek Biosciences last year, as well as ARA.

“Ocean Nutrition Canada’s fish-derived omega-3 products are highly complementary to DSM’s microbial and ARA products, as they address different customer needs and reach different market segments,” stated DSM in a press release. “The acquisition of Ocean Nutrition Canada extends DSM’s portfolio of omega-3 fatty acids, reaching a wide range of different market segments and applications. The acquisition will allow DSM to strengthen and complement its newly established global Nutritional Lipids growth platform. It will strengthen DSM’s position in the North American dietary supplement market by adding fish oil derived from omega-3 fatty acids to its portfolio, and it will allow DSM to further leverage its global infrastructure to expand Ocean Nutrition Canada’s sales in dietary supplement markets outside North America and in the food and beverage markets worldwide.” DSM said it could also help expand the forms, encapsulation and emulsification technologies, and range of applications pertaining for Ocean Nutrition Canada’s omega-3s.

“After our successful acquisition of Martek in 2011, the acquisition of Ocean Nutrition Canada is the logical next step in developing our Nutritional Lipids into a major growth platform for our Nutrition cluster…” said Feike Sijbesma, CEO and chairman of DSM’s managing board.

Specifically, thanks to its global reach DSM will be able to bring Ocean Nutrition’s fish oils to a broader food and beverage market, added Stephan Tanda, DSM managing board member overseeing the company’s Nutrition division.