French-based specialty chemicals distributor Safic-Alcan has taken full control of its Chinese joint venture Sichuan HuaFaMei Enterprise Co. Ltd. (China) after acquiring a 50% stake in 2006. The Chinese company’s former shareholder and acting president, Charles Hu, will continue to actively manage the business.

Founded in 1997, the distributor, which employs 44 people in the People’s Republic, is part of the Sino-French BimSiframGroup in which Safic-Alcan has a participation. In 2015 the company reported sales revenue of €5 million with active pharmaceutical ingredients, intermediates, plant extracts, chemical raw materials and drug products as well as a wide range of APIs. 

“Acquiring full ownership of Sichuan HuaFaMei Enterprise Co. Ltd. is part of our strategy to expand in Asia,” Safic-Alcan said. It added that the takeover gives the French company direct access to the multinational pharmaceutical players active in China and affords the opportunity to build upon the existing infrastructure to realize its expansion plans.

The Paris-headquartered distributor with annual sales of €466 million develops and markets a large range of polymers, materials and additives for the rubber, coatings, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics industries. It has a presence throughout the EU and Turkey in addition to China, and also is establishing a foothold in eastern Europe and the US.