Taste and nutrition giant Kerry Group has raised €750m in fresh capital to fund future acquisitions and repay existing debt. Last week, Kerry Group issued a fixed-rate 10-year bond on the Euronext market in Dublin with an interest rate, or yield, of just 0.625%.

According to Kerry, this is the lowest ever interest rate on debt achieved by an Irish company or financial institution.

“The proceeds of the offering will be used for general business purposes, including the payment of existing indebtedness and the funding of acquisitions that took place over the past 18 months,” the company said.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal in August, Kerry Group chief executive Edmond Scanlon said the company’s spending on acquisitions over the next 18 months could range from €500m to €800m.

“Acquisitions have always been an important part of the Kerry story. I would say that Kerry Group has a core competency for identifying, evaluating, integrating and generating value from acquisitions,” said Scanlon.

Meanwhile, Kerry Group also launched a new portfolio of plant-based food solutions last week. The new range is known as Radicle by Kerry and offers a range of plant-based solutions for customers in the food sector. The Radicle range will provide plant-based food solutions for companies looking to develop meat or dairy alternatives. The global plant-based food market is forecast to hit close to $25bn over the coming years, thanks to rapid growth of flexitarian diets.