
FIH Partners advises Nestlé, Danica and the remaining shareholders on the divestment of Glycom to DSM for an enterprise value of DKK 5,700m, representing an EV/EBITDA 2019 multiple of 20.6x.
Glycom is the world’s leading supplier of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs). Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Hørsholm (Denmark), Glycom pioneered the development and commercialisation of HMOs for infant formula and has recently entered other application areas such as medical foods. The company operates a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Esbjerg (Denmark) and is the only fully-integrated HMO provider in the world with its own product development, pre-clinical and clinical development, regulatory capabilities and large-scale production. In 2019, the company achieved EUR 74m of sales and an EBITDA of EUR 37m, representing an EBITDA margin of 50%.
DSM is a global, purpose-led, science-based company active in Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Living with about EUR 10bn in annual sales and ~23,000 employees. In early life nutrition, DSM is a leading global solutions supplier with a unique portfolio of e.g. nutritional lipids, vitamins and nutrient premixes. DSM is headquartered in the Netherlands and listed on Euronext Amsterdam with a market cap of EUR ~20bn.
With the acquisition of Glycom, DSM adds HMOs to its portfolio, a novel high-growth ingredient for next generation early life nutrition solutions. The acquisition is anchored at a strong strategic rationale and will be highly synergetic as DSM can further accelerate the growth of Glycom by offering HMO products to DSM’s broad global customer base.