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SINGAPOREAN commodities company Wilmar International has bought a controlling stake in Natural Oleochemicals (Natoleo) for RM450m ($140m).

The 91.38% stake in Natoleo was put on the market by the Malaysia-based diversified group Kulim. Kulim says it will use the cash to focus on its oil palm plantations and quick-service restaurants business.

Natoleo turns crude palm oil and palm stearin into a products such as glycerine, fatty acids, raw soap, and esters as raw materials for detergents, cosmetics and toiletries, plastics, food additives and the paper industries. The company is one of the world’s largest oleochemicals producers with significant market share in Europe and Asia and a growing presence in the US, Wilmar says.

Wilmar says that NatOleo is a good fit with its existing businesses, which include oil palm plantations, edible oil refineries, speciality fats, oleochemicals and biodiesel processing and production. The company, which is part-owned by the US food and feed giant Archer Daniels Midland, expects further growth in the oleochemicals industry thanks to rising demand for renewable alternatives to petrochemicals.