Azelis Strengthens Its Footprint in Italy With the Acquisition of Azienda Chimica e Farmaceutica (‘ACEF’)

09 Jul 2025 07:00 CEST

Issuer

Azelis Group NV

Regulatory News:

Azelis (Brussels:AZE), the reference innovation service provider in the speciality chemicals and food ingredients industry, is pleased to announce that it has acquired 100% of the shares of Azienda Chimica e Farmaceutica (‘ACEF’), a distributor of speciality raw materials and ingredients for the cosmetic, nutraceutical, galenic and pharma industries in Italy.

Customers will benefit from access to a broader combined portfolio, as well as wider technical capabilities and market-specific expertise.
Principals benefit from partnering with a distributor with unparalleled customer reach and the ability to develop wider applications for their products, thereby continuously expanding the market for them.
Azelis will reinforce its footprint in the domestic market by leveraging portfolio synergies, actively consolidating the business while creating value for all its stakeholders.

Founded in 1940 in Piacenza, ACEF operates three laboratories for technical support and quality control, as well as GMP-compliant facilities for pharmaceutical ingredients. Its subsidiary, Arda Natura, specialises in plant extracts and other natural products.

ACEF is well recognised in the local market for the breadth of its product and service offering tailored to the needs of over 4,000 customers in the cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, galenic products and nutraceutical markets. The company is comprised of sales and technical experts, including more than 70 employees. It has long-standing relationships with a large network of well-known suppliers, and its broad portfolio strategically complements Azelis’s lateral value chain for the relevant end markets. With this acquisition, Azelis significantly expands its footprint in Italy and strengthens its position as industry leader in the relevant end markets.

Alberto Piombi, President, and Emilio Zavattoni, CEO and Head of Administration & Finance at ACEF, comment:
“We recognise the high-quality solutions that Azelis provides to its principals and customers, so joining forces is an exciting opportunity for ACEF. With our laboratory capabilities and tailor-made services, we look forward to adding our talents to those of the Azelis teams, leveraging our combined skills to reinforce our position as a leading distributor and bring the best solutions to our customers.”

Marco Gerosa, Managing Director at Azelis Italy, adds:
“We are pleased to welcome ACEF to the Azelis group, bringing together skilled teams and creating opportunities for people to grow. We continuously strive to deliver innovation through formulation, and ACEF’s value proposition fits perfectly with our objective. The addition of their portfolio and technical capabilities reinforces our footprint in the personal care and galenic markets and expands our pharmaceutical and nutraceutical offerings. This acquisition is another demonstration of our commitment to our purpose of enabling our customers to win and our principals to grow.”

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About Azelis
Azelis is the reference global innovation service provider in the speciality chemical and food ingredients industry present in 65 countries across the globe with over 4,300 employees. Our knowledgeable teams of industry, market and technical experts are each dedicated to a specific market within Life Sciences and Industrial Chemicals. We offer a lateral value chain of complementary products to more than 62,000 customers, supported by +2,800 principal relationships, creating a turnover of €4.2 billion (2024). Azelis Group NV is listed on Euronext Brussels under ticker AZE and is included in the BEL20 and BEL®ESG indices.

Across our extensive network of more than 70 application laboratories, our award-winning teams help develop formulations and provide technical guidance throughout the customers’ product development process. We combine a global market reach with a local footprint to offer a reliable, integrated, and unique digital service to local customers and attractive- business opportunities to principals. Top industry-rated by Sustainalytics, Azelis is a leader in sustainability. We believe in building and nurturing solid, honest, and transparent relationships with our people and partners.
Impact through ideas. Innovation through formulation.

www.azelis.com