Univar and CHEMCENTRAL Agree to Revised Merger Terms

    ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands, March 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Univar
 N.V. (Euronext Amsterdam: UNIVR), a world leader in chemical distribution,
 today announced that its US subsidiary, Univar USA, has entered into a
 revised agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of CHEMCENTRAL Corporation.
     Univar originally announced on March 12, 2007, that its US subsidiary,
 Univar USA, had entered into an agreement to acquire CHEMCENTRAL for
 approximately USD 600 million. Subsequently, on March 19, 2007, Univar
 announced it had been notified by CHEMCENTRAL of a competing acquisition
 proposal by Brenntag Holding GmbH.
     The revised merger agreement increases the purchase price to USD 650
 million, prohibits CHEMCENTRAL from soliciting or considering other
 proposals to acquire the company, and requires CHEMCENTRAL to discontinue
 further acquisition discussions with Brenntag Holding GmbH, in addition to
 certain other changes.
     In a separate agreement, certain senior officers and the Board of
 Directors of CHEMCENTRAL have committed to vote their shares in favor of a
 merger with Univar and against other proposals.
     Completion of the merger is conditional upon receipt of regulatory
 approvals and approval by CHEMCENTRAL shareholders, and is expected to be
 closed in April 2007.
     About Univar
     Univar N.V. (Euronext Amsterdam: UNIVR) is one of the world's leading
 independent distributors of industrial chemicals and providers of related
 specialty services, operating throughout North America and Europe. Univar
 endeavors to service its customer base, made up of some 250,000 industrial
 customers, with a full portfolio of products. The majority are commodities
 that the company buys in bulk, then processes, blends and repacks to meet
 the diverse requirements of the industries we serve. Others are
 specialties-purchased pre-packaged and sold on a technical basis, usually
 under a manufacturer's own brand. As well as differentiating ourselves
 through our vast product offering, Univar also provides a number of related
 services, both to its customers and suppliers, such as blending, managing
 customer inventories, packaging, labeling, warehouse management, waste
 management, technical support and managing vendor reduction programs.
 Univar operates a network of 160 distribution centers, located throughout
 the United States, Canada and 18 European countries. In 2006, Univar
 generated net sales of USD 6.6 billion and operating income (EBIT) of USD
 238.6 million. Univar has approximately 6,900 employees based throughout
 North America and Europe. The company's registered office is in Rotterdam,
 the Netherlands, with administrative support offices in Bellevue,
 Washington, USA, and Bradford, England, UK. For more information, visit:
 www.univarcorp.com
 
 

SOURCE Univar