Croda’s £232 million buy-out of a South Korean beauty product ingredients business has been approved by the regulatory authorities, leading to completion of the deal.
An agreement to acquire Solus Biotech, a leading global player in the premium, biotechnology-derived sector, was reached back in February. It is a move described as giving East Yorkshire-headquartered Croda greater ability to serve luxury beauty customers in Asia and globally. It also expands Croda’s manufacturing capability on the continent.
The approvals and subsequent completion were announced by the FTSE-listed firm to the stock market today.
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As reported, the number of products featuring ceramides - moisture-loss preventing waxy lipid molecules - has doubled over the past five years, and they are used principally for skin care but increasingly for hair care formulations.
At the time of the initial deal announcement, Steve Foots, chief executive of Croda, where sales topped £2 billion last year, said: "This is a strategic bullseye for Croda, consolidating our position as a global leader in supplying sustainable, natural actives for personal care across three critical technology platforms of peptides, ceramides and retinol. It significantly enhances our sustainable biotechnology capabilities and adds a North Asia manufacturing and innovation facility, providing a springboard to premium markets in Asia and beyond. I am especially excited about their brilliant technology, with Solus bringing rich intellectual property and proprietary know-how that we will be able to deliver to customers globally."
Solus has more than 30 years' experience in biotechnology and fermentation. The business generated sales worth £28 million last year, and employs 95 people across both its research and development centre in Bundag, near Seoul, and its production centre in Iksan.
Access to Croda's formulation capabilities are also seen as a way to accelerate development of Solus' products, creating “even greater value for our customers globally and address exciting, formulated ceramide demand”.
It is the latest of a run of acquisitions in the sector for the Cowick Hall team, with additions in the fragrances sector too.
