Ajinomoto envisages the sale of its entire equity stake in Ajinomoto Animal Nutrition Europe (AANE), which is a feed-use amino acid company wholly owned by Ajinomoto Co. subsidiary Ajinomoto Animal Nutrition Group (AANG), to METabolic EXplorer (METEX), a company based in France with strengths in research and development in fermentation technologies.

AANG entered into exclusive negotiations with METEX to discuss the proposal of sale of the shares of AANE and concluded a put-option agreement (Option Agreement) under which METEX offers to AANG to buy all the shares of AANE for EUR 15 million (approximately JPY 1,890 million). Subject to the prior completion of the consultation procedures with the relevant staff representatives, such proposed transaction could be completed by around April 2021 at the earliest.

In accordance with labor law in France, the consultation of the relevant staff representatives needs to be completed first. To that end, the consultation of AANE’s Social and Economic Committee on the proposed transaction was launched today and may to take up to three months.

AANE has been involved in the feed-use amino acid business in Europe since 1974, manufacturing and selling feed-use lysine, feed-use tryptophan and other products. While European markets for meat and feed-use amino acids have been showing steady growth, Ajinomoto Co. has made transformation into a business structure that enables sustainable growth a key strategy of its FY2020-2025 Medium-Term Management Plan.

As its roadmap for structural reform, it is planning to reshape its portfolio with a focus on higher efficiency and stronger growth potential by restructuring non-core businesses. Part of this initiative has been AANG’s implementation of an asset-light approach to bases outside Japan in the structural reform of its animal nutrition business for approximately the past 10 years. AANG initiates exclusive negotiations with METEX with the intention of completing its structural reform.

With the aim of becoming a “solution-providing group of companies for food and health issues,” the Ajinomoto Group will contribute to the production of sustainable food resources by conducting a specialty business based on its unique amino acid technologies and materials, and a customized feed solution (CFS) business that provides new value through its products and services, including customized solutions for each customer.