Tate & Lyle has agreed to a £2.7bn takeover by its US rival Ingredion, in a deal that could put hundreds of jobs at risk and represents yet another loss for London’s struggling stock market. The FTSE 250 business, which makes artificial sweeteners such as Splenda, has agreed to a deal that values it at 615p a share, about 60% above its price before news of a possible takeover emerged.
However, the companies said the deal could trigger a “material reduction” in Tate & Lyle’s workforce, representing 3%, or about 475 jobs, of the new group’s headcount. “Any such workforce reduction would be implemented with the aim of combining the strengths and capabilities of both businesses,” they said in a joint statement.
Tate & Lyle, which is one of the oldest listed companies in the UK, employs just under 5,000 people around the world. About 200 employees are in the UK, most of whom operate from its headquarters in London. Ingredion, which is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, employs about 11,000 people worldwide.
The takeover comes at a low point for Tate & Lyle’s share price, which, prior to news of the deal, had lost more than half of its value in just five years. The company sold its namesake sugar business to American Sugar Refining for £211m in 2010, then focused on artificial sweeteners and speciality food ingredients, buying the US-based CP Kelco for $1.8bn in 2024.
Ingredion said its new combined group would generate annual revenue of about $9.9bn (£7.4bn) and make adjusted profits of $1.8bn. Shares in Tate & Lyle were up 14% at 562p in early afternoon trading. The takeover is yet another loss for London’s stock market, which has suffered a series of high-profile exits in recent years.
Tate & Lyle traces its history back to the late 1800s, when Henry Tate and Abram Lyle set up rival sugar refining operations. The two companies merged in 1921 and listed on London’s stock exchange in 1938. The Tate & Lyle chair, David Hearn, said the company’s “next chapter with Ingredion will create a business with even greater potential, greater scale, and increased investment in innovation”.
