3i Group has acquired European chemical distributor Azelis Group from Cognetas (f.k.a. Electra Partners Europe) for Euro 315 million. Azelis was formed in 2001 via the merger of Novocherm (< ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Italy) and Arnaud (France). www.3i.com www.azelis.com< ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />