Danisco
Encyclopedia
Danisco A/S is a Danish
bio-based company with activities in food production, enzyme
s and other bioproducts
as well as a wide variety of pharmaceutical grade excipient
s. It was formed in 1989 from the largest Danish industrial merger ever of the two old C.F. Tietgen companies Danish Sugar (founded 1872), and Dansk Handels- og Industri Company (Danisco A/S).
Danisco is one of the world's leading producers of ingredients for food and other consumer products and was also one of the biggest sugar producers in Europe until the divestment of its sugar division to Nordzucker in 2009.
Headquartered in Copenhagen
, the group has approximately 6,800 employees in more than 80 locations in 40 countries.
Danisco shares were listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange
and a member of the blue chip OMX Copenhagen 20
index until June 2011, when DuPont
completed a US$6.3 billion acquisition of the company.
and Sweetener
s.
The Industrial Enzymes business (Genencor) focuses on industrial biotechnology
and encompasses business segments such as Fabric
and Household Care (enzymes for laundry and dishwashing detergents), Technical Enzymes (enzymes for bioethanol and carbohydrate
processing as well as textile treatment) and Food and Animal Nutrition (enzymes for bread, feed and brewing applications).
Danisco also has two biochemical projects: DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC
, a biofuels joint venture with DuPont
, and a BioIsoprene project with Goodyear
focused on tires.
On 9 January 2011, DuPont announced that it had reached agreement to buy Danisco for US$6.3 billion. The acquisition was motivated by a desire by DuPont "to gain production of food additive
s and enzymes used in biofuel
s." On May 16, 2011, DuPont announced that its tender offer for Danisco had been successful and that it would proceed to redeem the remaining shares and delist the company.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
bio-based company with activities in food production, enzyme
Enzyme
Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...
s and other bioproducts
Bioproducts
Bioproducts or Bio-based Products are materials, chemicals and energy derived from renewable biological resources.-Bioresources:Biological resources include agriculture, forestry, and biologically-derived waste, and there are many other renewable bioresource examples. One of the scientific terms...
as well as a wide variety of pharmaceutical grade excipient
Excipient
An excipient is generally a pharmacologically inactive substance used as a carrier for the active ingredients of a medication. In many cases, an "active" substance may not be easily administered and absorbed by the human body; in such cases the substance in question may be dissolved into or...
s. It was formed in 1989 from the largest Danish industrial merger ever of the two old C.F. Tietgen companies Danish Sugar (founded 1872), and Dansk Handels- og Industri Company (Danisco A/S).
Danisco is one of the world's leading producers of ingredients for food and other consumer products and was also one of the biggest sugar producers in Europe until the divestment of its sugar division to Nordzucker in 2009.
Headquartered in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, the group has approximately 6,800 employees in more than 80 locations in 40 countries.
Danisco shares were listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange
Copenhagen Stock Exchange
The Copenhagen Stock Exchange or CSE is an international marketplace for Danish securities, including shares, bonds, treasury bills and notes, and financial futures and options...
and a member of the blue chip OMX Copenhagen 20
OMX Copenhagen 20
The OMX Copenhagen 20 , formerly KFX) is the top-tier stock market index for the Copenhagen Stock Exchange, which is part of the OMX group...
index until June 2011, when DuPont
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
completed a US$6.3 billion acquisition of the company.
Activities
The Company’s activities are structured into two lines of business: Food Ingredients and Industrial Enzymes (Genencor). The Food Ingredients business supplies bio-based ingredients for food and beverage products and comprises three business segments: Enablers, CulturesMicrobiological culture
A microbiological culture, or microbial culture, is a method of multiplying microbial organisms by letting them reproduce in predetermined culture media under controlled laboratory conditions. Microbial cultures are used to determine the type of organism, its abundance in the sample being tested,...
and Sweetener
Sweetener
Sweetener is a sugar substitute.Sweetener may also refer to:* Sugar alcohol* Honey* Syrup...
s.
The Industrial Enzymes business (Genencor) focuses on industrial biotechnology
Industrial biotechnology
Industrial biotechnology is the application of biotechnology for industrial purposes, including manufacturing, alternative energy , and biomaterials. It includes the practice of using cells or components of cells like enzymes to generate industrially useful products...
and encompasses business segments such as Fabric
Fabric
A fabric is a textile material, short for "textile fabric".Fabric may also refer to:*Fabric , the spatial and geometric configuration of elements within a rock*Fabric , a nightclub in London, England...
and Household Care (enzymes for laundry and dishwashing detergents), Technical Enzymes (enzymes for bioethanol and carbohydrate
Carbohydrate
A carbohydrate is an organic compound with the empirical formula ; that is, consists only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with a hydrogen:oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 . However, there are exceptions to this. One common example would be deoxyribose, a component of DNA, which has the empirical...
processing as well as textile treatment) and Food and Animal Nutrition (enzymes for bread, feed and brewing applications).
Danisco also has two biochemical projects: DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC
DuPont Danisco
DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC is a 50/50 joint venture between DuPont and Genencor, a subsidiary of Danisco. The company is accelerating development and deployment of cellulosic ethanol, which is ethanol made from non-food biomass...
, a biofuels joint venture with DuPont
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
, and a BioIsoprene project with Goodyear
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery....
focused on tires.
On 9 January 2011, DuPont announced that it had reached agreement to buy Danisco for US$6.3 billion. The acquisition was motivated by a desire by DuPont "to gain production of food additive
Food additive
Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavor or enhance its taste and appearance.Some additives have been used for centuries; for example, preserving food by pickling , salting, as with bacon, preserving sweets or using sulfur dioxide as in some wines...
s and enzymes used in biofuel
Biofuel
Biofuel is a type of fuel whose energy is derived from biological carbon fixation. Biofuels include fuels derived from biomass conversion, as well as solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases...
s." On May 16, 2011, DuPont announced that its tender offer for Danisco had been successful and that it would proceed to redeem the remaining shares and delist the company.