South Korea’s cosmetics and beverage maker LG Household & Health Care said Wednesday that it has signed a 54.2 billion won ($51.5 million) deal to buy an 86 percent stake in CNP Cosmetics, a local cosmeceuticals firm.

The acquisition is aimed at stepping up its business by expanding into the cosmeceutical market that is fast becoming a new growth engine, LG Household said in a statement.

Cosmeceuticals, a newly coined word combining cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, refers to products that have medical or drug-like benefits. LG Household already owns such brands as Carezone and Dermalift.

CNP Cosmetics, created by CHA Gangnam Medical Center, has been leading the local cosmeceutical market, selling about 120 kinds of such products.

It posted an operating profit of 4.8 billion won in 2013 with its sales reaching 24 billion won, the company said. The global cosmeceutical market is estimated at around 35 trillion won and is growing twice as fast as the conventional skin care industry, LG Household said.

Meanwhile, LG Household’s regulatory filing showed it posted a record high of 1.23 trillion won in sales and 150.2 billion won in operating profit in the third quarter. (Yonhap)