IMCD expands into Latin American with Colombian acquisition

29-Nov-2019 - Last updated on 29-Nov-2019 at 17:03 GMT

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Netherlands-based specialty chemicals distributor IMCD has expanded its footprint in the Latin America market with the acquisition of the Colombia ingredients distributor Unired Quimicas.

IMCD executives confirmed that the company had acquired 100% of the outstanding shares in the Bogota-headquartered business, which serves the personal care, food and pharmaceutical markets.

The business is focused on the Colombian market and in 2018 it employed 15 people, with a sales turnover of US$8 million in 2018.

Integration of the business

Unired Quimicas will be integrated into the IMCD business portfolio throughout 2020, serving to contribute to the business’s international expansion, which has involved a number of newly acquired businesses in the past few years, worldwide.

Given that both businesses have a specialty chemicals focus, are asset-light and have been built around relationship building with leading suppliers, the acquisition is a particularly good fit to the expanding IMCD portfolio.

IMCD executives state that buying the Unired Quimicas business fits in with its acquisition strategy to become the leading global specialty chemical distributor, providing tailor-made, knowledge-based expertise for its customers.

“We are delighted to become part of IMCD as the acquisition immediately propels Unired into the future with a larger and more specialized team and added technical know-how,” said Oscar Clavijo, President of Unired.

Strengthening its positions in the Americas

IMCD is a global operation, but it has traditionally been a European business. In recent years acquisitions have focused on growing its businesses in not only the Latin American region, but also throughout the Americas.

“Following IMCD Americas’ acquisitions in the U.S., Canada and Brazil, this is an important next step for IMCD to enter the Colombian market and to expand our LATAM presence,” said Marcus Jordan, President of IMCD Americas.

“Unired is a reputable pharmaceutical, food and personal care distributor and we very much look forward to working together to further develop our offering to both suppliers and customers in the region.”