Ingredion's takeover bid for Tate & Lyle
Money MovesBoard unanimously backs Ingredion's £2.7B all-cash bid, three days before the UK Takeover Code deadline
May 21st, 2026: Tate & Lyle full-year results: statutory revenue up 16%, like-for-like down 3%New here? Follow stories to track developments over time. Create a free account to get updates when stories you care about change.
Overview
Updated Jun 8Ingredion and Tate & Lyle agreed the terms of a recommended all-cash deal on June 8, three days before the UK Takeover Code's June 11 deadline. Tate & Lyle's board unanimously backed the 595p-per-share offer.
Tate & Lyle published annual results on May 21 showing statutory revenue up 16% to £2.0 billion, the first full year with CP Kelco included, though like-for-like sales fell 3%. J.M. Huber's equity arm, which holds 16.8% of Tate & Lyle shares after selling CP Kelco to the company in 2024, gave an irrevocable commitment to vote in favour. Completion is targeted for the second half of 2027, pending shareholder approval and antitrust clearances in the US, EU, and UK.
Why it matters
The deal removes another big company from London's stock market and concentrates global food ingredient supply further.
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British food and beverage ingredients company specialising in sweeteners, texturants and dietary fibres.
Chicago-based maker of food and industrial ingredients derived from corn, tapioca, potato and other plant sources.
Timeline
October 2010 May 2026
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Tate & Lyle full-year results: statutory revenue up 16%, like-for-like down 3%
Latest EarningsTate & Lyle reported statutory revenue of £2.0 billion for the year ended March 31, 2026 (the first full year with CP Kelco included), up 16% year-on-year, though like-for-like revenue fell 3% against soft market demand. Adjusted EPS was 40.4p; the dividend was held flat at 19.8p. Nick Hampton said CP Kelco integration was complete.
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Ingredion's £2.74B proposal becomes public
M&A ProposalIngredion proposes acquiring Tate & Lyle at 595 pence per share in cash, valuing the company at about £2.74 billion. Tate & Lyle confirms it is in discussions with advisers. The 28-day Put Up or Shut Up clock starts under the UK Takeover Code.
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Deutsche Bank raises Tate & Lyle target to 595p; shares surge 44%
Market ReactionDeutsche Bank analyst Damian McNeela raised his target on Tate & Lyle from 460p to 595p, keeping a Buy rating, and said the bank had long argued the stock was mis-priced. Goodbody's Patrick Higgins called the combination strategically logical but flagged antitrust risk in the U.S., where the two companies overlap most. Tate & Lyle shares closed up roughly 44%; Ingredion fell about 2.8%.
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Ingredion cuts full-year guidance after Argo thermal event
EarningsIngredion reported Q1 2026 adjusted EPS of $2.34, down from $2.97 a year earlier, after a thermal event at its Argo, Illinois facility caused $40 million in unexpected costs — well above the $10–15 million initially estimated. The company cut full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $10.45–$11.15 from a prior midpoint of about $11.40, nine days before making the Tate & Lyle approach public.
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CP Kelco acquisition completes
M&ATate & Lyle closes the CP Kelco deal, becoming a pure-play specialty food ingredients group with combined revenue above $3.4 billion.
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Tate & Lyle agrees CP Kelco deal
M&ATate & Lyle agrees to buy specialty texturants and biopolymer maker CP Kelco from J.M. Huber for $1.8 billion. The acquisition is its largest in years and its central bet on specialty ingredients.
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Tate & Lyle completes Primient joint venture
Corporate ActionTate & Lyle sells a controlling stake in its U.S. corn-syrup and bulk-sweeteners business into a joint venture with KPS Capital Partners, branded Primient, for $1.7 billion. The deal completes its exit from commodity sweeteners.
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Nick Hampton becomes Tate & Lyle CEO
LeadershipHampton takes over from Javed Ahmed after three years as Chief Financial Officer. He signals plans to accelerate the company's shift toward specialty food ingredients.
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James Zallie takes over at Ingredion
LeadershipZallie becomes CEO of Ingredion after running its specialty ingredients arm. He pushes the company harder toward higher-margin specialty products and away from commodity sweeteners.
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Tate & Lyle exits European sugar refining
Corporate ActionTate & Lyle completes sale of its European sugar refining operations, including the Thames Refinery, to American Sugar Refining for £211 million. It is the company's first major step away from its founding commodity business.
Historical Context
3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
Kraft-Cadbury takeover (2010)
Kraft Foods launched a £10.2 billion hostile bid for Cadbury in September 2009. After raising the offer to £11.5 billion and winning over Cadbury's largest shareholders, the deal closed in February 2010. Kraft then closed a Cadbury factory in Somerdale it had pledged to keep open, triggering political backlash.
Cadbury was delisted from London and folded into Kraft's confectionery business. Kraft later spun the unit out as Mondelez International in 2012.
The UK Takeover Panel tightened the Code in 2011, introducing the 28-day Put Up or Shut Up deadline and requiring bidders to disclose financing details. Those rules now apply to Ingredion.
Sets the rulebook Ingredion is operating under. Also a reminder that US bids for British food companies can complete despite political resistance, particularly when the premium is large.
Pfizer's bid for AstraZeneca (2014)
U.S. drugmaker Pfizer made a £69 billion approach for AstraZeneca in April 2014, partly driven by tax inversion. AstraZeneca's board rejected the offer as undervaluing the company. Pfizer walked away in late May after UK political opposition and shareholder pushback.
AstraZeneca remained independent. Its shares fell back below Pfizer's offer level in the months after the bid lapsed.
AstraZeneca's standalone strategy paid off. Its market value by 2024 far exceeded Pfizer's 2014 offer. The U.S. Treasury later tightened tax inversion rules.
Shows that a determined target board can defeat even a generous US bid, particularly when the deal becomes politically sensitive. Tate & Lyle does not have AstraZeneca's UK political profile, but its board has the same option to demand more.
Kraft Heinz's approach for Unilever (2017)
Kraft Heinz, backed by 3G Capital and Berkshire Hathaway, made a $143 billion approach for Unilever in February 2017. Unilever's board rejected it as inadequate within 48 hours. Kraft Heinz withdrew the offer two days later.
Unilever launched a strategic review, accelerated cost cuts and bought back £5 billion of shares. It later sold its margarine business to KKR.
Unilever stayed independent and unified its corporate structure into a single UK-listed entity in 2020. Kraft Heinz wrote down $15 billion of brand value in 2019.
Shows how fast a public approach can collapse if the target board moves decisively. Also shows that resisting a takeover can pay off for shareholders long-term.
