CHICAGO — Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. has acquired substantially all the assets of an Australia-based distributor of aircraft materials and supplies.

Through newly formed subsidiary Bralco Metals (Australia) Pty Ltd., Reliance purchased the assets of Melbourne-based service center Airport Metals (Australia) Pty Ltd., a subsidiary of Mississauga, Ontario-based Samuel Son & Co. Ltd. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"This strategic asset purchase will allow our existing Bralco Metals business to have a physical presence in the Australian market, where they currently service aircraft and other key customers from our U.S. operations," Reliance chairman and chief executive officer David H. Hannah said in a statement Monday. "This is our first entry into Australia, and we are excited to leverage the strong reputation that Airport Metals has built in the area."

In 2011, Los Angeles-based Reliance acquired steel and alloy pipe, tube and bar distributor Continental Alloys & Services Inc.; earlier this year, it purchased metals fabricator McKey Perforating Co. Inc., processor and distributor National Specialty Alloys LLC and a Vonore, Tenn., toll processing facility previously owned by Worthington Industries Inc.

Reliance operates service centers across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East; 45 percent of its sales are aluminum, stainless steel and alloy products, according to its 2012 annual meeting presentation.