Azelis, the global distributor of speciality chemicals and food ingredients, has signed an agreement with Aktaş and individual shareholders to acquire 100% shares of Ekin Kimya, the Turkish speciality chemicals distributor for pharma chemicals, food ingredients and lab chemicals.
Headquartered in Istanbul, the company represents a large number of renowned world-class speciality pharmaceutical, food ingredients and lab chemicals manufacturers who have a strong strategic fit with Azelis’ principal and customer base.
Turkey has always been an attractive geography for Azelis, and the company said the acquisition is considered to be a physical and economical bridge between Europe and Asia, as well as a vibrant and growing market.
Azelis first entered Turkey with the acquisition of Tara Kimya in 2007 and has been steadily growing since.
Ekin Kimya was founded in 1995 by Dr Murat Çıtıroğlu, who currently owns the company together with Dr Ekrem Ekinci and Aktaş, a distributor and trader of bulk petrochemicals. The company employs more than 70 people.
Azelis Turkey has more than doubled its turnover in the last four years
"This acquisition, which comes at a time when we are preparing to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Ekin Kimya’s establishment, will play a key role in the company carrying its existing healthy and sustainable growth trend into the future," said Muharrem Aktaş, Chairman of Ekin Kimya.
Stratgic acquisition
For Azelis, Ekin Kimya shares a strong focus on speciality service offerings and technical expertise. In addition to Azelis’ three laboratories in Turkey, which focused on personal care, homecare and food, Ekin Kimya will be bringing a modern pharmaceutical lab to the new set-up.
Anna Bertona, Azelis CEO & President, EMEA, commented: “The pharmaceutical market in Turkey is very attractive from a distributor's perspective for a number of reasons: local production and consumption of pharmaceutical products have been steadily growing in Turkey; the Turkish government has been heavily investing in pharma industry as it wants the country to become a major pharmaceutical producer, exporter and R&D hub; and Turkey, of course, is among the 20 largest economies in the world."
Ekin Kimya will be bringing a modern pharmaceutical lab to the new set-up
Bertona said Azelis Turkey has more than doubled its turnover in the last four years and attributed the performance to the company's commitment to customers and principals, as well as the innovation and formulation support we have brought to them.
“While Azelis Turkey has achieved a significant presence in food and health, personal care, we have been looking to expand our pharmaceutical activities. Ekin Kimya brings a fantastic market reach and reputation for its strong technical support; only in the last three years, they have held training sessions and workshops for 300 customers. Sertaç Sürür, Managing Director of Azelis Turkey, commented.