...New York(S&P Global Ratings) April 4, 2019-- International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (###/Stable/A-2) reported results for fiscal-year-ended Dec. 31, 2018, and fiscal fourth quarter, which included segment breakout of Frutarom. IFF closed its acquisition of Frutarom on Oct. 4, 2018, creating the second-largest flavors and fragrances company in a $20 billion industry. IFF highlighted that the integration of Frutarom is underway. The pro forma adjusted leverage was in line with our expectations at approximately 4.5x. We expect the company to have materially weaker cash flow and leverage ratios with the acquisition in the near term, albeit with good deleveraging prospects over our two-year outlook. The company had previously been operating with debt to EBITDA in the 2.0x-2.5x range. Although pro form leverage was around 4.5x as of year end, we expect the company to deleverage over the next 12-24 months following one-time integration costs. Both IFF and Frutarom have been quite acquisitive...
