Azelis strengthens South Korean presence through the acquisition of Coseal

Azelis announces it has agreed to acquire 100% of the shares in Coseal in South Korea. Coseal is renowned for its specialist distribution, repackaging and blending of agricultural/horticultural surfactants. The acquisition of Coseal will further drive Azelis’ growth in these market segments across Asia Pacific.

Highlights & rationale

• This new partnership diversifies and strengthens Azelis’ position in the attractive agricultural/horticultural segment in South Korea
• Coseal has long-established customer relationships and strong technical expertise
• The transaction is consistent with Azelis’ strategy of complementing organic growth with strategic acquisitions  

Established in 1973 and headquartered in Seoul, Coseal is owned by Mr. Sang Jin Kang and family. Mr. Kang and Coseal’s 45 employees will be integrated into the Azelis team.

South Korea is an attractive and growing market with 51m inhabitants and a high GDP per capita.

This transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.

Mr. Kang Sang Jin, CEO of Coseal, says:

“We are delighted to be partnering with Azelis. With almost 50 years of experience operating in South Korea, our joint focus on sales excellence and innovation-driven services brings new and exciting opportunities. There is huge potential to gain new business in South Korea withCoseal’s expertise of the sector and Azelis’ existing global principal network and international agricultural/horticultural customer base.”

Mr. Laurent Nataf, CEO & President of Azelis Asia Pacific, adds:

“Like Azelis, Coseal has strong technical expertise and strives to continually provide tailor-made formulations to customers. This has been critical in building Coseal’s long-lasting and collaborative relationships. Azelis in South Korea has been largely focused on personal care, so we’re very excited to enter the agricultural/horticultural market with such a reputable partner by our side.”

Azelis entered South Korea in 2018 with the acquisition of SammiChem Co., Ltd., which is now known as Sammi Azelis Co., Ltd. The company runs a state-of-the-art application laboratory dedicated to Personal Care. In 2021, Azelis expanded the business in South Korea by acquiring MH, a food distributor.

The acquisition of Coseal illustrates the support provided by EQT since the initial acquisition of Azelis. EQT is confident that the expanded range of services and global reach provided by this acquisition will continue to bring benefits to customers and principals of the combined group.