UK chemicals company acquired by Indian counterpart

According to press reports the Indian company acquired the subsidiary of global chemical player Yule Catto for about $30 million. James Robinson specialises in hair dyes, photographic and pharmaceutical chemicals and offers a range of oxidative dyes for permanent chemicals and direct colorants for semi permanent colours. The UK-based company also has facilities in Germany and the Gujarat region of India. Acquisition aims to increase global presence​ Vivimed Labs state that the acquisition will help the company increase its presence in the global market for speciality chemicals and will provide new business opportunities. "The acquisition will help us gain a global footprint and new customers in manufacturing of speciality chemicals, especially hair dyes. It will also add new business avenues such as chemicals for the photography industry,"​ said managing director of Vivimed Labs Santosh Varalwar, as quoted in the Business Standard, Mumbai. Furthermore, Vivimed plans to launch a number of new products in the skin and hair dye segments, said Varalwar. New product launches ​ New products will include a skin tanning product, a sun screen product, an ascorbic acid derivative for skin care and a range of hair dye ingredients, he added. Vivimed Labs currently specialises in anti-microbial chemicals, preservatives and anti-oxidants, as well as chemicals for use in oral care, sun care and hair care products. The company, based in Hyderabad, India, is going increasingly global having been approved in spring 2007 as a supplier for a range of L'Oreal's sunscreen products. "This approval endorses Vivimed's position as a globally competitive supplier, and further strengthens its already established leadership in the sunscreen actives market​. Vivimed hopes to leverage this association with the Global leader to open up prospects to qualify as a supplier for its other key products to the Cosmetic Giant,"​ said Varalwar