Brenntag acquires in Africa and Taiwan

Chemical distribution giant Brenntag has initiated or completed four acquisitions within the space of a few days at the end of July. The company has agreed to acquire the 50% stake it did not already have in Crest Chemicals in South Africa, the operating business of Chemgrit Cosmetics, also of South Africa, plus Taiwan’s Neuto Chemical, and also completed the acquisition of the chemical distribution business of the Kenyan Desbro Group.

Johannesburg-based Crest has been a 50:50 joint venture between Brenntag and AECI since 2001. It will now be integrated into Brenntag South Africa. Crest distributes chemicals to sectors including paint and coatings, food, general industry, mining and water, bringing mixing and blending capabilities with it. It had sales of about €95 million in 2018. This deal should be finalised by the end of the year.

Chemgrit is described as an independent speciality chemical distributor with a focus on the personal care and cleaning markets. It has three warehouses in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, and an in-house laboratory offering services like mixing, refilling, redistribution and delivery, and formulating and testing. It had sales of about €5 million in 2018. Completion is expected to take place in Q3.

The Desbro Group is based in Nairobi, Kenya, with further activities in Tanzania, Uganda and the UAE. Brenntag had agreed to buy it in September 2018. It offers commodity and speciality chemicals for markets including coatings, water treatment, textiles, construction and, increasingly, the life sciences, the company said.

Taipei-based Neuto Chemical, finally, distributes specialty and industrial chemical products to industries such as electronics, coatings, textiles and metalworking in Taiwan. Brenntag said that it would be a good fit with its existing Brenntag Taiwan business, which focuses on health and nutrition. Neuto had sales of about €26.2 million in the 2018. The deal should close in 1H 2020, subject to regulatory approval and closing conditions.