Ingredion Inc., Westchester, IL, has completed the acquisition of Penford Corp., a U.S.-based leader in specialty ingredients for food and nonfood applications.

“This is a great opportunity for Ingredion,” says Ilene Gordon, Ingredion chairman and CEO. “Penford’s expertise in potato starch, nonstarch texturizers (hydrocolloids) and green solutions expands our capabilities to address growing consumer trends. Plus, their complementary portfolio of higher-value specialty ingredients will take us into new and profitable sectors. We are looking forward to a bright future together.

“We will begin the integration immediately to capture synergies, provide a broader offering of higher-value specialty products to our customers around the world and continue to deliver shareholder value.”

The integration is expected to generate annual cost synergies of at least $20 million, primarily from efficiencies in the areas of manufacturing, procurement, logistics and general and administrative functions, according to Ingredion. Excluding one-time costs, the transaction is expected to be 8 to 12 cents accretive to earnings on a per share basis in 2015.

Penford common stock has ceased trading on the NASDAQ Stock Market. Penford will be incorporated into Ingredion’s $3.1 billion North American business, led by Jim Zallie, Ingredion executive vice president of global specialties and president of North America and EMEA. Tom Malkoski, Penford’s president and CEO, will join Ingredion as a senior adviser on strategic projects to promote specialties growth as well as support the integration of Penford.