Kerry Group is likely to be among those interested in bidding for Bush Boake Allen, a publicly quoted US flavours and fragrance company, if Union Camp, its majority shareholder, decides to put its stake up for sale.
Union Camp, which owns more than 70 per cent of Bush Boake Allen, announced in November that it was merging with its larger rival, International Paper, in a stock swap deal worth $6.6 billion (€6.1 billion). The merger between the two companies was cleared by the European Commission last month.
Many in the market believe that the paper company's stake in Bush Boake Allen, which produces fragrances for perfumes and lotions and flavours for beverages and snack foods, could come on the market if non-core businesses are sold off following the merger.
If it does, Kerry, which is back on the acquisition trail following the integration of Dalgety, is widely expected to be interested.
"There are a number of ingredients companies washing around at the moment and Kerry is probably looking at all of them," said one market source. "It's keen to expand now that it has bedded down Dalgety."
However, Kerry, which releases 1998 results next week, said it was not aware that Union Camp's stake was up for sale. "It's not on the market to my knowledge," said Mr Frank Hayes, head of corporate affairs with the Tralee-based company.
Bush Boake Allen, which reported pre-tax income of $50.7 million last year on net sales of $485.4 million, has a market capitalisation of more than $600 million at present.
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