CVC and Parcom buy €1.5bn Univar(2)

A CVC Capital Partners-led consortium has bought Dutch chemicals company Univar, which is partially listed on Euronext, for €1.5 billion ($2 billion), according to a CVC statement.

CVC partnered with Parcom Ventures, the private equity arm of Dutch bank ING to make the €53.50 per share recommended offer. This is a premium of 37.3 percent to the closing price of the shares on 6 July 2007.  HAL, an international investment company with a 26.6 percent stake, had already committed to tender its shares to CVC. HAL cannot sell its stake to another bidder unless it is offered €4 above the bid price, CVC said.

CVC plans to pursue a growth strategy organically as well through acquisition at the company, which had sales of around $8 billion last year, it added.

Gary Pruitt, Univar’s chief executive, will continue his role after the takeover, CVC said. As part of the deal it will nominate three board directors and one independent director. Senior managers at Univar will receive shares as incentives, a spokesman said.

The takeover comes under three months after the Dutch group’s buyout of ChemCentral in April.

It has been a busy month for buyout firms in the chemicals sector, with CVC buying Belgian chemicals business Taminco from AlpInvest for €800 million last week. Apollo Management also trumped rival trade bidder Access Industrial Holding with an offer of approximately $6 billion for the New York listed company last week. 

The deal is expected to complete during the third quarter of 2007. Law firm Kirkland & Ellis is representing CVC on the financing.