An affiliate of private equity firm One Rock Capital Partners LLC recently entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Ingredients manufacturer Innophos Holdings for $932 million, the companies announced in a release Monday. The Cranbury, NJ-based company’s board of directors unanimously approved One Rock’s proposal to buy all of its outstanding shares for $32 per share. 

“After careful consideration and a thorough review of our strategic alternatives, including an outreach program to multiple potential financial and strategic partners over several months, the board determined that a sale to One Rock is in the best interest of all our stakeholders,” Kim Ann Mink, the chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Innophos, said in a statement. “We remain confident that our transformational strategy is the right path forward for Innophos; however, executing on this in an increasingly volatile macroeconomic and complex financial environment as a small-cap public company remains challenging and could take longer than initially expected.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Innophos will immediate initiate a 30-day “go-shop” period, in which it will consider alternative acquisition proposals and possibly enter into negotiations with other suitors. 

“Innophos’ innovative ingredient solutions are used by world-leading brands across a wide range of attractive food, health, nutrition, and industrial markets. The company has a strong foundation and a transformative growth strategy,” One Rock Managing Partner Tony W. Lee said in the release. “In drawing upon One Rock’s extensive experience, part of our goal is ot maximize Innophos’ growth potential by continuing to expand its presence in high-growth food, health and nutrition markets, while further strengthening and optimizing its cash-generative core business.”

One Rock’s acquisition of Innophos is slated to reach completion in early 2020 pending the completion of regulatory and stockholder approvals, and other closing conditions. If the private equity firm purchases the ingredients maker, Innophos will become a privately-held company. 

Powder & Bulk Solids reported this September that Innophos was examining its options for a sale. 

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