Univar to Acquire CHEMCENTRAL

Univar N.V., a world leader in chemical distribution, today announced that its U.S. subsidiary, Univar USA, has entered into an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the shares of Chemcentral Corporation for approximately $600 million in cash, including assumed debt.
    
Chemcentral, established in 1926, is a privately held company headquartered near Chicago, IL. Based on 2006 consolidated revenues of $1.4 billion and EBITDA of approximately $70 million, the company is one of the leading industrial chemicals distributors in the U.S., with trading relationships in more than 60 countries.
    
Chemcentral is a major distributor of both specialty and commodity chemicals and has distribution centers located throughout the U.S. and selected sites in Mexico, Canada, South America, Australia and the Caribbean, with joint ventures in China, Southeast Asia/South Pacific, India and the Middle East. Its sales are derived primarily from its North America operations, with more than 90 percent of 2006 revenues attributable to its U.S. business. Chemcentral operates 45 stocking locations and four regional centers in North America, with another 25 international warehouse locations, and has approximately 1,000 employees.
    
Combined consolidated revenues for Univar N.V. and Chemcentral for 2006 would have been approximately $8 billion, solidifying Univar’s position as a leading worldwide distributor of industrial chemicals.  
    
Commenting on the acquisition, Gary Pruitt, Univar CEO, said, “We are very excited by the prospect of joining forces with Chemcentral. It is a quality organization in every respect. We look forward to adding their depth of talent to the Univar family.” He added, “Chemcentral brings to our combined organization a diverse customer base in North America with a complementary product set that provides significant opportunities for cross-selling amongst our respective customer bases. Furthermore, Chemcentral provides Univar an attractive position in a number of rapidly growing international markets where we are currently underrepresented.”
    
“This is a smart, strategic acquisition by Univar that delivers attractive value to Chemcentral’s shareholders,” said John Yanney, president and CEO of Chemcentral. “The union of our companies also will bring important benefits for our customers and suppliers, as well as create new professional opportunities for many Chemcentral employees in a larger organization with a culture similar to our own. As our industry becomes increasingly global, merging with Univar provides exciting prospects for continued growth and development in important markets around the world.”