Natural sweetener producer BioVittoria has struck a deal with global ingredients company Tate and Lyle.
Tate and Lyle has taken an 11% stake in the Hamilton-based firm and in return will take the exclusive global sales and distribution rights over the company's Fruit-Sweetness product for the next five years. No price has been disclosed.
The sweetener, which Tate and Lyle will sell under a Purefruit brand name, is the first natural, calorie-free, fruit-based sweetener to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Tate and Lyle is listed on the London Stock Exchange and made sales worth £3.5 billion in 2010.
BioVittoria's bid to float on the stock exchange in late 2009 failed to attract enough support from investors.
