Germany-based global chemical distributor Brenntag has agreed to acquire the South Korean specialty chemicals distributor Whanee Corporation, based in Gwacheon, near Seoul. Closing of the deal is expected in the next few weeks. Whanee, which reported sales of €16.8 million in 2015, mainly supplies the domestic South Korean market with a wide range of food and beverage ingredients and has a focus on dairy, functional and flavor related products.

The German group said the acquisition facilitates its Brenntag Asia Pacific subsidiary’s entry into the South Korean specialty chemicals market following the December 2015 acquisition of TAT Group, which gave it a berth in the country’s industrial chemicals market.

With the first acquisition, the distributor established Brenntag Chemicals Korea, which operates in the segments Lubricants, Personal Care, Coatings and Home Care. Both operations now have set a “solid footprint” for the distributor in South Korea, said Henri Nejade, CEO of Brenntag Asia Pacific.

Brenntag said Whanee offers access to a solid local customer base including key players in the dairy food and beverage industry. In addition, it said the company has a reputable international supplier base, partially with exclusive rights to import and sell the supplier’s products in the domestic market.

Overall, South Korea’s market is considered to offer significant opportunities for Brenntag in the center of Northeast Asia, where South Korea’s local food and beverage market has experienced strong growth rates over the past years, said Anthony Gerace, the group’s managing director Mergers & Acquisitions.