Luxembourg-based specialty chemicals distributor Azelis is establishing a presence in South Korea following an agreement to buy SammiChem. Financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close during the coming three months, were not revealed.

Located in Seoul, SammiChem distributes personal care ingredients, specializing in cosmetics. SammiChem’s owner and CEO said the deal would open up new doors for the company and ensure its future.

Azelis CEO Hans Joachim Muller noted that a large part of the Asia-Pacific personal care was located in South Korea, which was technologically advanced with a highly skilled, affluent middle class. He commented: “As we have been building a very strong technical expertise in life sciences in Asia Pacific, personal care in particular, this all makes South Korea very attractive for us.”

Laureent Nataf, CEO and president of Azelis Asia Pacific, added that the acquisition will allow the distributor to create a solid platform for the region and enable further growth with its principal suppliers.

Azelis is majority owned by UK-based private equity group Apax Partners, which bought the stake from 3i Group in 2015. The distributor has been building up its scale in recent years for a planned initial public offering (IPO), with speculation that this could take place during 2018.

In March, Azelis acquired Moroccan food ingredients distributor, Distralim, a move which it said was part of a strategic focus on Africa.