International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), a creator of flavors and fragrances for consumer products, says that it has made a binding offer for the acquisition of Lucas Meyer Cosmetics (Quebec City), a business of Unipex Group (Paris). Lucas Meyer has operations also in France and Australia, and it develops, manufactures and markets innovative ingredients for the cosmetics and personal care industry. Under the terms of the offer, IFF will pay about €283 million ($317 million). The transaction is structured as a binding offer in order to allow the seller to consult with its French works council prior to entering into the final purchase agreement, IFF says. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2015 and is subject to exclusivity protection. The transaction, which will be funded from existing resources, is expected to add revenues of about €40 million on an annualized basis, IFF says.

Lucas Meyer offers proprietary active ingredients, functional ingredients and delivery systems that address health and wellness macro-trends in the beauty industry in both the developed and emerging markets, IFF says.

“The addition of Lucas Meyer Cosmetics to the IFF portfolio aligns well with our strategic growth initiative to strengthen and expand our portfolio,” says IFF chairman and CEO Andreas Fibig. “The company has a successful track record of delivering double-digit compounded annual sales growth since 2011 in a very attractive industry. We believe they will be an excellent complement to our existing portfolio and will strengthen our ability to achieve our Vision 2020 goals of accelerated growth and increased differentiation,” Fibig says.

“This acquisition would combine our fragrance expertise, global commercial network, leadership in natural ingredients, and unique R&D pipeline with Lucas Meyer Cosmetics’ research and cosmetics ingredients innovation,” says Nicolas Mirzayantz, group president/fragrances at IFF. “This will strengthen our product offerings and enable IFF to be one of our customers’ partners of choice in the very attractive skin care and hair care segment. We’re looking forward to welcoming Lucas Meyer Cosmetics’ employees to IFF,” Mirzayantz says.

“We believe IFF is the preferred partner for Lucas Meyer Cosmetics’ future development while preserving the continuity of the world-class, innovative and market-driven cosmetic ingredient expertise built over the years by our dedicated and loyal employees,” says Antonio Lara, v.p. and general manager of Lucas Meyer Cosmetics.

Morgan Stanley is acting as financial advisor to IFF, and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton is acting as legal advisor.