NEW YORK, NY & CAROL STREAM, IL, – Nagase Holdings America and Prinova Group, LLC (“Prinova”) announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Nagase & Co., Ltd. (“Nagase Group”) will acquire Prinova.

Prinova is a leading manufacturer and distributor of premium nutrition ingredients for the global food and wellness industries.

Through this transaction, Nagase Group reinforces its dedication to expanding its global footprint in the food and nutritional ingredients industry. Nagase Group plans to leverage the new expertise to broaden its product portfolio and offerings to the market.

“This acquisition marks a significant milestone in our continued effort to expand Nagase Group’s global footprint in a high value-added business,” said Kenji Asakura, President, and CEO of Nagase Group. “The addition of Prinova’s expertise, unique positioning, and portfolio offering enables us to expand our food and nutrition ingredients value chain in North America, Europe and also in Asia.”

“Prinova is among the world’s largest distributors and providers of functional ingredients and integrated nutritional solutions to food, beverage and wellness brands but we have always had a broader vision –to make a larger global impact by helping our customers grow their brands and improve their customers’ quality of life,” said Don Thorp, President of Prinova USA. “As we discussed a possible combination with Nagase, we quickly realized that its global infrastructure, desire to increase its footprint in the food and nutritional ingredients space, and above all else, its commitment to the highest standards of quality and safety, made this an ideal opportunity for our company to realize its vision. We are excited about the opportunities that this partnership will provide for our customers and dedicated employees.”

Nagase Group is a leading chemical trading firm in Japan founded in 1832 with annual revenue of approximately $7.5 billion. Nagase Group has continued to expand its business by enhancing value-added functions/services such as manufacturing, processing and R&D capabilities. In 2012, Hayashibara, a well-known Japanese company with strong R&D expertise in biotechnology actively developing and manufacturing functional food ingredients joined Nagase Group. Today, Nagase Group owns more than 100 group companies around the globe, manufacturing and distributing various products such as resins, functional polymers, plastic products, electronic materials, functional food, and pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates.

GCA Corporation acted as financial advisor and Atsumi & Sakai acted as legal advisor to Nagase Group. Lazard Middle Market LLC acted as financial advisor and Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC acted as legal advisor to Prinova.