Darling Ingredients

Darling already makes about 30 percent of the world's collagen and gelatin, and collagen has been the fastest-growing piece of their food business for years. Now they are combining their Rousselot collagen arm with Tessenderlo's PB Leiner unit to create Nextida, a new company with roughly 1.5 billion dollars in expected annual revenue. Darling will own 85 percent of it.

This deal costs Darling no cash and no upfront investment, yet it hands them 200,000 metric tons of collagen and gelatin capacity across 23 factories in South America, North America, Europe, and Asia. That is instant global reach without building a single new plant, and it sets up real cost savings as the two operations merge.

This is still only a non-binding term sheet, not a signed contract. It needs final documents plus regulatory approvals in multiple regions, and closing is not expected until 2026. That is a long wait, and the 1.5 billion dollar revenue company on paper could shrink or stall if regulators or negotiations get difficult.

Darling is a commodity business at heart, and it shows. Revenue grew just over 7 percent while net margins sat near 3.5 percent, meaning only about three and a half cents of every dollar becomes profit. With more than 260 plants to keep running, swings in fat, grain, or fuel prices can eat those thin margins fast.