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BARENTZ ACQUIRES NORTH AMERICAN SPECIALTY DISTRIBUTOR MAROON

Published October 16, 2020
Published October 16, 2020
Bill Oxford via Unsplash

Dutch ingredients supplier Barentz has acquired North American CI Capital-backed specialty distributor Maroon.

WHO: Maroon Group is a leading distributor of specialty chemicals and ingredients across North America. Based in Avon, Ohio, Maroon Group has thrived on creating success for customers by forming partnerships with leading manufacturers and supplying consistent products on time.

Barentz is a leading global life science ingredients distributor for the Human Nutrition, Pharmaceutical, Personal Care, and Animal Nutrition markets. Established in 1953 and headquartered in the Netherlands, Barentz has operations in more than 60 countries with a strong presence in Europe and Asia, and a growing presence in North America and Latin America.

WHY: The acquisition will expand Barentz’ activities and is aligned with its strategy to become a global leader in the life science and broader specialty chemical industries.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Joost Thesseling, Managing Director at CI Capital, said, “We are grateful to have had the opportunity to support Terry and the Maroon management team in executing Maroon’s buy-and-build strategy, which allowed Maroon to become a leading North American distributor of specialty ingredients and chemicals. We thank the Maroon team for their hard work, and congratulate them on a fantastic outcome for all of Maroon’s stakeholders. We wish them and Barentz all the best in the future.”

Maroon Group CEO Terry Hill said, “With CI Capital’s support, Maroon transformed itself from a regional CASE and Plastics distributor based in the Midwest into the broad business it is today. Together, we have built a great company and we are gratified that Barentz has recognized the immense upside in the unique position we have. Maroon fits seamlessly into Barentz’ global product portfolio, and with leading industry experts and several specialized application laboratories, both businesses share a commitment towards leveraging industry and technical knowledge to support our suppliers’ and customers’ business development.”

“Terry Hill brings excellent experience and ‘know-how.’ He also knows my home country The Netherlands and Europe very well and has been highly successful and active in the global ingredients industry for more than 30 years,” said Hidde van der Wal, CEO of Barentz. “We are very pleased that he will join the Management Board of Barentz and guide us, with his very talented team of approximately 300 specialists, towards a smooth continuation of excellence and growth of both companies.”

This acquisition will bring a series of synergies. “Our product portfolios are very complementary,” added Hidde van der Wal. “We have no conflicts of interest and we can learn a lot from each other. Maroon Group has significant scale in North America—the biggest economy of the world, where we were small, until today. The combination will immediately make Barentz a leading global distributor with an excellent opportunity to establish new business segments in North America. It is a natural combination that enables us to offer quality and expertise to our combined customer base.”

DETAILS:

  • Dutch ingredients supplier Barentz has acquired North American specialty distributor Maroon.
  • The details of the transaction have not been released.
  • Maroon is said to generate an annual turnover of approximately US$500MM and employs around 300 staff.
  • Maroon Group will continue to be led by CEO Terry Hill, who joined the company’s board of directors in 2017, and assumed the CEO role in 2019.
  • Maroon was acquired by CI Capital in partnership with the company’s management team in 2014. During CI’s ownership, Maroon integrated 11 add-on transactions, grew revenues by over 450%, and increased employee headcount eightfold.
  • Moelis & Company LLC and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP advised Maroon on the transaction.
  • Kirkland & Ellis LLP advised Barentz on the transaction.
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