The transaction is expected to close within the next three months. Financial terms were not revealed.

Commenting on the acquisition, Terry Del Rosario, managing director of both APKI and PSSI, said: “Azelis and APKI and PSSI have highly complementary business models which will help us diversify our product portfolio significantly. We will leverage Azelis’ strong focus on the food industry in Asia Pacific which will help us expand our presence in this market.”

Azelis said that the Philippine companies’ strong presence in the personal care segment directly benefits from the population’s increasing purchasing power and growing access to premium products. According to the Luxembourg-headquartered multinational distributor, the Philippines has a population of more than 100 million, a rapidly growing economy and a young workforce with a median age of 26 years. The World Bank is forecasting GDP growth in the Philippines of 5.9% in 2021 and 6% in 2022.

This latest move is the third acquisition that Azelis has announced in a little over three weeks. Earlier this month, it said it was buying major stakes in Vietnamese firms MKVN Chemicals and Viet Chemicals Trading and Service, which was preceded in December by an agreement to purchase CW Pacific in Australia.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist