German fertilizer group K + S is expanding into Asia with the purchase of Chinese magnesium sulfate producer, Huludao Magpower Fertilizers. The company is paying a euro sum in the “low double-digit millions” range for Magpower, one of China’s largest producers of synthetic magnesium sulfate which is used as a fertilizer for oil palms, soybeans and sugar cane as well as industrial applications.

Norbert Steiner, chairman of the board of executive directors at K + S, and responsible for the potash and magnesium products business, said the acquisition bolsters its competitive position in specialties and allows it to better tap into the growth markets of Southeast Asia.

“We see great sales potential for magnesium sulfate products to the agricultural sectors in China and Southeast Asia which we can’t service adequately from our German sites,” Steiner said.

Magpower has a 90,000 t/y plant in Huludao City in the northeast province of Liaoning, employing about 50 people. K + S said the plant’s capacity could be doubled to 180,000 t/y in the foreseeable future. To date, K + S has only produced magnesium sulfate fertilizers from natural deposits at several sites in Hesse and Lower Saxony, Germany.

The transaction is anticipated to close at the end of this year.