Darling Int'l. To Buy Vion Holding's Vion Ingredients For About €1.6 Bln

(RTTNews) - Food waste recycling company Darling International Inc. (DAR) has agreed to acquire the shares other than certain minority interests of Vion Ingredients, an unit of Vion Holding N.V., for around 1.6 billion euros cash.

Vion Ingredients, which employs nearly 5,700 people, devolps and produces specialty ingredients from animal origin for applications in pharmaceuticals, food, feed, pet food, fertilizer and bio-energy. Its global network of 58 facilities on five continents includes all aspects of animal by-product processing through six brands including Rendac (rendering), Sonac (proteins, fats, edible fats and blood products), Ecoson (green power), Rousselot (gelatin), CTH (natural casings), and Best Hides (hides), the company said.

Vion Ingredients, its brands and geographies would continue to be headed by Chief Executive, Dirk Kloosterboer. Following completion, Dirk would be appointed as Chief Operating Officer of Darling International and be named to the company's board. Further, Darling would finance the acquisition via. a combination of bank debt, public debt and equity, and expects this purchase, excluding one-time charges, before synergies, and pro forma for financing to be immediately accretive to earnings per share.

The transaction may be complete in January 2014, subject to customary regulatory approvals and finalization of the required employee consultations in the Netherlands.