Clariant and South Korean BioSpectrum agree strategic partnership

Clariant AG / Clariant and South Korean BioSpectrum agree strategic partnership . Processed and transmitted by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Muttenz, April 12, 2016 - Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, signed an agreement to acquire a 17 % share in BioSpectrum, Inc ("BioSpectrum"). Headquartered in South Korea, BioSpectrum is a leading developer and supplier of specialty active cosmetics' ingredients derived from Asia's diverse flora which have proven benefits for humans.

Currently a family-owned business, BioSpectrum will remain an independently managed company. Clariant will leverage its global sales and innovation network to market BioSpectrum's product portfolio of active ingredients worldwide, with the exception of Korea.

"The transaction will allow us to expand in the strategically important and growing global markets for Personal Care applications. Our investment in BioSpectrum will give us further access to highly innovative active ingredients based on renewable raw materials. This corresponds to a growing consumer demand for natural cosmetic ingredients, not only in the emerging markets of Asia but worldwide", said Hariolf Kottmann, CEO of Clariant.

Christian Vang, Head of Business Unit Industrial & Consumer Specialties (BU ICS) at Clariant, commented: "We are pleased about the strategic partnership with BioSpectrum. The transaction will further enhance our earlier investment in the partnership with Beraca in Latam America and leverages on our global customer platform through exclusive distributorship. This strategic investment strengthens and significantly enlarges Clariant's active ingredient portfolio, reinforcing our ability to deliver a comprehensive range of natural, sustainable and effective formulations to the Personal Care industry."

Dr. Deok-Hoon Park, CEO of BioSpectrum, added: "This partnership with Clariant will be a key step in BioSpectrum's growth. We will have a strong partner on-board supporting our fast and ambitious expansion plans and we foresee tremendous innovation synergies that will lead us to create more value for customers around the world."

BioSpectrum is renowned for its experience in researching and developing natural raw materials that can be used in skin and hair care products. The company has strong scientific capabilities in bioassay, efficacy testing and claim substantiation,which allows the design and development of high-quality actives ingredients for the cosmetics industry. All of the ingredients are based on state-of-the-art technology and have been widely tested and developed to meet the demands and trends of the cosmetics industry.

BioSpectrum's portfolio of functional ingredients is derived from natural products and extracts from exotic Asian plants, in particular those found on the South Korean Jeju Island - an isolated mountain formed by volcanic eruption and featuring over 1,800 plant species. Its formulation ingredients include active compounds offering moisturizing, whitening, anti-aging, wound healing, anti-acne, skin soothing, anti-inflammation, anti-dandruff, detoxification and body slimming effects.

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