Archer-Daniels to Buy Pfizer Citric Acid Unit

Pfizer Inc. said it has reached an agreement to sell the company’s citric acid business to Archer-Daniels-Midland Co.

Terms were not disclosed, but Pfizer said the divestiture will yield “a profit” for the company.

Pfizer’s sales of citric acid, a key chemical component in the food beverage and pharmaceutical industries, amounted to more than $180 million in 1989.

Pfizer’s main citric acid production sites are in Southport, N.C., and Ringaskiddy, Ireland, and have 700 employees.

The health-care and specialty chemicals company said it would retain its Groton, Conn., citric acid plant.