Japanese firm eyes up Tate & Lyle's Splenda division

There looks to be good news for Tate & Lyle with reports that Ajinomoto, a Japanese sweetener maker, has its eye on the group's struggling Splenda division.

The FTSE 250 group said last week that it would finalise its plans for the division at a meeting due to take place this month.

However, according to the Sunday Telegraph, executives at Tate & Lyle are looking at ways of keeping hold of the division and exploring possible options to improve profits.

The group began to experience problems with sucralose early last year amid increased competition from its Chinese competitors, which drove down prices.

Since then, Tate & Lyle has issued a second profit warning due to price drops and a particularly harsh US winter, as well as the closure of its Singapore factory following an accident that left two workers dead.

Yet another profit warning was issued last week, saying its pre-tax profit for the 12 months ended March 31st would come in "modestly below" the previously predicted range of £230-245m.