- Suitors are holding talks this month with Univar management
- Univar said this month it broke off talks with peer Brenntag
According to Bloomberg article published on January 12, 2023, US chemical distributor Univar Solutions Inc. has attracted interest from potential bidders including Apollo Global Management Inc. and Platinum Equity, people familiar with the matter said.
The private equity firms have been studying the business, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Suitors are holdings talks with Univar management this month, according to the people.
The interest is preliminary, and there’s no certainty they will proceed with bids, the people said. Univar hasn’t made a final decision on a sale and could opt to remain independent, according to the people.
Representatives for Apollo, Platinum and Univar declined to comment.
Univar, based in Downers Grove, Illinois, confirmed it held talks with publicly traded German peer Brenntag SE in November. It terminated those discussions this month, saying it would continue talks relating to “other indications of interest.”
A take-private deal for Univar would incur less antitrust risk than a merger with a peer and would likely make it easier to restructure.
With one of largest private transportation fleets for chemicals in the world, Univar has a market value of about $5.5 billion. The stock rose 3.3% to $33.60 at 3:07 p.m. in New York trading Wednesday.
The company, which is led by Chief Executive Officer David Jukes, merged with rival Nexeo Solutions Inc. in 2019 and then sold its plastics business in that same year.
