SKINCARE products firm Dermasalve has been acquired by an AIM-listed cash company.

The County Durham-based firm, set up by GP Dr Mark Randle in 2003 for the over-the-counter and prescription skincare market, will be incorporated into Meon Capital and start trading, subject to shareholder approval, as part of Meon on AIM next month.

Dermasalve is a treatment for dry or sensitive skin, and the company hopes to continue tapping into a global skincare market of 28 billion US dollars.

Meon floated on the junior stock market, AIM, in February last year and has been looking at a number of acquisitions. It is a "cash shell", meaning it is specifically set up to target good companies to invest in.

Meon executive chairman David Massie said: "After a thorough investigation into the markets which Dermasalve is targeting, it was, in our view, the company that offered the growth potential our shareholders were looking for when they invested in Meon Capital and I am confident that Dermasalve will prove to be an excellent acquisition."

If shareholders approve Meon's acquisition, Meon will incorporate Dermasalve, change its name to Dermasalve, and issue more shares on January 4.