UK-based Croda is actively looking at a ‘one-in-a-generation’ deal, according to a report published by The Financial Times.

CEO Steve Foots told the newspaper that the specialty chemicals supplier was ‘concentrating on bolt-on deals providing access to new niches’ but also had ‘bigger, transformational’ targets in mind.

According to the FT report, Croda could spend up to £1 billion on the ‘right’ business, a far cry from industry speculation that Croda itself was likely to be the subject of a buyout by a foreign investor looking to capitalize on the devaluation of sterling following the Brexit vote.