Univar Agrees to Acquisition by Private Equity Firm

ROTTERDAM, Amsterdam — Univar NV has entered into an agreement to be acquired by the international equity group CVC Capital Partners.

“There will be very little impact on the pest control market or our day to day operations,” John Bolanos, Univar’s vice president of professional products and services, told PCT magazine. “This ownership change provides more flexibility in terms of accessing resources to take advantage of growth opportunities. PCOs will not see any change from Univar as a result of the sale.”

The billion-dollar deal should be completed by the end of the third quarter, Univar said. The sale puts the pest control industry’s largest distributor in the hands of private equity firm CVC, which manages about $30 billion in dozens of markets in Asia, Europe and North America.

“Clearly, there is a significant change in the structure of our capital markets, with private equity joining mutual funds, hedge funds and other more traditional classes of institutional investors as major sources of equity funding,” Bolanos said.

Univar operates a network of more than 200 distribution centers, spread primarily across the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. In 2006, Univar had sales of approximately $8 billion, and employs about 8,000 people.

Bolanos said CVC first contacted Univar about the acquisition in late May, and that the deal portends no staffing changes.

In a release, Univar said CVC would focus on growth through more acquisitions in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Univar acquired Chicago-based ChemCentral in April for $600 million.

The distribution company will be directed by a board comprising current CEO Gary Pruitt, three directors nominated by CVC and at least one independent member.