Specialty chemicals supplier Clariant has signed an agreement to buy 17% in BioSpectrum, a South Korean specialty active cosmetics’ ingredients developer and supplier.
After the acquisition, BioSpectrum, which is a family-owned business, will remain an independently-managed company.
For Clariant, the acquisition follows its earlier investment in Latin America’s Beraca and acts to strengthen and grow Clariant’s active ingredients portfolio in the personal care industry.
Hariolf Kottmann, CEO of Clariant, said: “The transaction will allow us to expand in the strategically important and growing global markets for Personal Care applications. Our investment in BioSpectrum will give us further access to highly innovative active ingredients based on renewable raw materials. This corresponds to a growing consumer demand for natural cosmetic ingredients, not only in the emerging markets of Asia but worldwide.”
BioSpectrum’s CEO Dr Deok-Hoon Park hopes the deal will be a “key step” in the company’s growth. Park explained that Clariant is a strong partner and, with its help, the company forsees “tremendous innovation synergies that will lead us to create more value for customers around the world”.
