Barentz to Acquire Maroon Group

Barentz International, a leading global distributor of life science ingredients, has signed a definitive written agreement to acquire Maroon Group, one of North America's leading specialty distributors. Maroon operates on a national scale across both the US market and throughout Canada. The North American platform acquisition is expected to close this quarter. The acquisition will expand Barentz's operations and aligns with the company's strategy to become a global leader in life sciences and the broader specialty chemicals industries.

Maroon Group CEO Terry Hill and the entire management team will continue to manage operations.

Barentz CEO Hidde van der Wal said "Terry brings exceptional experience and deep expertise. He knows the Netherlands, my home country, and Europe very well, and has been highly successful and active in the global specialty chemicals industry for more than 30 years" and added "We are delighted to have him join the Barentz Board of Directors and, with his talented team of approximately 300 specialists, we are confident he will guide us to ensure seamless continued excellence and growth in both companies."

According to Terry Hill, joining Barentz made strategic sense. Hill said "The determining factor was that Barentz is already a global operation, and this creates tremendous opportunities to strengthen our business in North America and internationally. Barentz is well-known in the industry, we share the same philosophy and entrepreneurial DNA, and we believe it is the best new home possible for our stakeholders in this business."

The acquisition will bring a series of synergies. Hidde van der Wal added, "Our product portfolios are complementary in nature. There are no conflicting interests and we can learn a great deal from each other. Maroon Group brings significant scale in North America, the world's largest economy, an area where we have historically been relatively small. This combination positions Barentz as a leading global distributor with an ideal opportunity to immediately create new business segments in North America. This is a natural fit that allows us to deliver quality and expertise to our combined customer base." The specific terms of the transaction have not been disclosed to the public. Maroon Group is a worldwide distributor and one of North America's largest specialty suppliers in the HI&I, personal care and pharmaceutical, food and nutrition, and CASE markets. Founded in 1977 and headquartered in Avon, Ohio, Maroon generates annual revenues of approximately USD 500 million and employs approximately 300 people. With leading industry expertise, unique technical knowledge and diverse specialty application laboratories, Maroon's focus is on leveraging industry and technical knowledge to support business development for Barentz's suppliers and customers. Maroon will integrate seamlessly into Barentz's global product portfolio and will gain access to synergistic business development opportunities across North America.