Associated British Foods To Buy SPI Holding Company

Associated British Foods plc, based in London, England has entered into an agreement to purchase SPI Holding Company from an investment group whose principal investors are Harrowston, Inc. of Toronto, Ontario and Chase Capital Partners of New York. SPI is a leading supplier of polyols in North and South America. Polyols are used as sweetening agents in food products and as ingredients in personal care products such as toothpaste and detergents.

Associated British Foods plc is a leading international food company with a strong presence in the United Kingdom, Australia, Asia, and more recently, the United States. ABF has acquired several North American food businesses in the past few years as part of a strategy to increase its presence in food ingredients and retail store brands. Most of these companies have been incorporated under ABF's AC HUMKO Corp. subsidiary. SPI will operate as a separate ABF North American subsidiary.

"SPI's businesses will fit in well with ABF's other food and food ingredients businesses. This acquisition further expands ABF's presence in the important North American food, personal care, and pharmaceutical ingredients markets," said Garry Weston, chairman of ABF.