Historic British food company sold to US rival in major £2.7billion takeover deal

British sweetener and ingredients company Tate & Lyle has accepted a £2.7billion takeover offer from American competitor Ingredion.

The deal, announced on Monday, marks the departure of the final remaining member of the UK's original FT-30 stock index from the London Stock Exchange.

Under the offer, Illinois-based Ingredion will pay up to 615p per share for London-listed Tate & Lyle, including 595p in cash and dividend payments due on top.

The deal values Tate at £2.7billion, or £3.7billion including debts, and follows a number of earlier proposals by Ingredion.

It comes after Tate’s shares have been under pressure over the past year, with the firm warning over full-year profits last October and revealing a 10 per cent drop in first half profits in November.

David Hearn, the chairman of Tate & Lyle, said: "Looking forward, we believe the next chapter with Ingredion will create a business with even greater potential, greater scale, and increased investment in innovation in support of customers.

"The board of Tate & Lyle believes Ingredion’s offer represents an attractive opportunity for shareholders to crystallise value in cash, and that it will be an excellent steward of Tate & Lyle."

Tate & Lyle, which traces its origins to Victorian-era London's sugar trade, will join forces with the Illinois-based firm to form a significant global ingredients business.

The combined entity is expected to become a major force in the global ingredients market, with particular strength in areas such as texture, sugar reduction and clean-label products.

Ingredion had until June 11 to submit a formal offer or withdraw under UK takeover regulations.

This offer represents a 64 per cent premium on Tate & Lyle's recent share price.

The company's stock closed at 491.4 pence on Friday, giving it a market capitalisation of approximately £2.2billion before the deal was announced.

Ingredion's market value currently stands at around $6.3billion. The American company had first disclosed its proposal in May, with the current terms matching that earlier approach.

The transaction will expand Ingredion's higher-margin specialty ingredients operations as food manufacturers increasingly demand products linked to health and reformulation trends.

Tate & Lyle's history stretches back to the sugar industry of Victorian London, making it one of Britain's most enduring commercial names.

The company remains the sole surviving constituent of the original FT-30 index that still trades publicly on the London market.

Today, the firm supplies ingredients across food, beverage and animal nutrition sectors. However, it has struggled with weakening demand in North America and supply chain difficulties.

In February, the company projected low single-digit falls in both revenue and earnings for fiscal 2026.

Ingredion, headquartered in Westchester, Illinois, employs more than 12,000 staff globally and processes commodities including corn, potatoes and tapioca into ingredients for food and beverage producers.

The company has been actively expanding its specialty ingredients portfolio through acquisitions and partnerships in recent years.

The takeover adds to a wave of acquisitions involving UK-listed firms.

Asset manager Schroders was purchased by an American rival earlier this year, while Intertek indicated this week it was inclined to back a £9billion-plus bid from Swedish private equity group EQT.