Bioscience company Amyris has signed a definitive agreement with Nikkol Group, a leading Japanese cosmetic specialty chemical provider, to establish a cosmetic ingredient joint venture.

As part of the venture Nikkol will acquire 50 percent of the Amyris Neossance business for up to $20 million. Amyris will receive $10 million of the purchase price upfront and the remaining $10 million as an earn out over the first three years of the venture. 

A long term distributor of Amyris’ cosmetic ingredients in the Japanese market, Nikkol has been a key partner in helping grow the Amyris business. 

John Melo, Amyris President and CEO, “NIKKOL is an ideal partner for this joint venture and is the leading channel partner for our squalane business.

“This agreement is another key step among several in our stated plan to build greater value for our business, and ensure access to partner-driven growth capital while positioning the company to significantly expand product sales. This aligns with our strategy of focusing our business on partnering with the world’s leading companies to accelerate our product sales growth while lowering our operating costs. We expect squalane sales through to end customers to continue growing at better than 50% annually while our expenses will be reduced by over $1.5 million annually as a result of this partnership.”