Givaudan to acquire cosmetics business of AMSilk

As part of its 2020 strategy to expand the capabilities of our Active Beauty business, Givaudan today announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire the cosmetics business of AMSilk GmbH.

AMSilk is the world’s first industrial supplier of vegan silk biopolymers and has its headquarters near Munich, Germany. AMSilk offers a range of high-performance biosourced polypeptides with unique functional properties in the field of cosmetics. These vegan biopolymers offer a broad range of applications across categories such as hair care and skin care with benefits like silk touch, anti-pollution, or colour protection of the hair. Over the years, they have filed 10 patents for the use of biopolymers in cosmetic applications.

Maurizio Volpi, President of Givaudan’s Fragrance Division said: “The acquisition of the cosmetics business of AMSilk fits very well our long term strategy for Active Beauty. It offers an expanded portfolio of natural and biosourced products supported by a strong research and development biotechnology platform to drive future development and innovation in the active cosmetic ingredients space. Their expertise in biotechnology is fully aligned with ours; it will reinforce Givaudan’s capabilities in cosmetic ingredients to support our customers in developing sustainable, performant and safe products.”

Jens Klein, CEO of AMSilk added: “We are honoured that Givaudan is acquiring our successful cosmetics business to further expand internationally to reach even more consumers around the world with our functional biopolymers.”

Laurent Bourdeau, Head of Givaudan’s Active Beauty Business said: “The AMSilk technology is unique and will allow us to enlarge our portfolio of products by developing bespoke polypeptides. The products are biosourced and the processes are fully sustainable, which contributes nicely to our ‘A Sense of Tomorrow’ sustainability approach. It is fully in line with our ambition to fulfil the growing consumer demand for ‘Clean Beauty’ products.”

Terms of the deal have not been disclosed and Givaudan plans to fund the transaction from existing resources.

About Givaudan

Givaudan is the global leader in the creation of flavours and fragrances. In close collaboration with food, beverage, consumer product and fragrance partners, Givaudan develops tastes and scents that delight consumers the world over. With a passion to understand consumers’ preferences and a relentless drive to innovate, Givaudan is at the forefront of creating flavours and fragrances that ‘engage your senses’. The Company achieved sales of CHF 5.5 billion in 2018. Headquartered in Switzerland with local presence in almost 150 locations, the Company has more than 13,500 employees worldwide. Givaudan invites you to discover more at www.givaudan.com.

About Givaudan Fragrances

Givaudan is passionate about perfumery and is dedicated to combining creativity and innovation to design beautiful fragrances. With the industry’s largest perfumery team, Givaudan contributes to making life delightful and memorable through unique scent experiences for customers around the world. Currently present in all major markets, Givaudan strives to deliver fragrances for personal, home and laundry care, as well as prestige perfumes. Our customers benefit from Givaudan’s expertise in three business areas: Fine Fragrances, Consumer Products, and Fragrance and Cosmetic Ingredients. We invite you to ‘engage your senses’ and learn more about Fragrances at www.givaudan.com/fragrances.

About Givaudan Active Beauty

Givaudan Active Beauty offers an extensive portfolio of innovative active cosmetic ingredients designed to bring beauty to the world. Inspired by the beauty needs of consumers worldwide, Active Beauty offers award-winning products for an expanded range of benefits including anti-ageing, self-tanning, soothing, hydrating, cooling, and more. Our cutting-edge technologies draw on science and nature to create high-performing molecules and functional agents, including customised carrier systems. Part of the Fragrance Division, Active Beauty leads the market in crafting innovative products supported by our strong expertise in advanced and applied sciences. We invite you to ‘engage your senses’ and learn more about Active Beauty at www.givaudan.com/activebeauty.

About AMSilk

AMSilk GmbH is the world’s first industrial supplier of vegan silk biopolymers and has its headquarters in Planegg near Munich, Germany. AMSilk’s high-performance biopolymers have the unique functional properties of the natural product they are based on. AMSilk offers its innovative range of high-performance Biosteel® fibres for textiles and industrial applications worldwide and has announced collaborations and partnerships with world leading brands like Adidas and Airbus. The organic high-performance material can be used in multiple ways, and is suited for medical devices as well as for personal care products. AMSilk high-performance biopolymers give such products unique properties. Among other things, the polymers are biocompatible, safe and robust. AMSilk invites you to discover more at www.amsilk.com.

For further information please contact

Peter Wullschleger, Givaudan Media and Investor Relations
T +41 22 780 9093
E peter_b.wullschleger@givaudan.com

Marie Laure André, Fragrance Communications
T +33 1 3998 4477
E marie-laure.andre@givaudan.com