Engine Capital, an investment firm with a 1% stake in Brenntag, has become the second to advise the company to separate out its two businesses. PrimeStone, which owns 2%, had urged similar action in December, when Brenntag itself was in discussions with Univar Solutions about a possible merger.

Univar Solutions has confirmed that Brenntag has ended discussions with it about a potential merger. The company said that it is “committed to acting in the best interest of its stockholders and will continue discussions relating to other indications of interest that have been received with respect to a potential transaction”.

Brenntag originally opened discussions with Univar in November. The deal would have brought together the world’s largest and second largest chemical distributors. Brenntag and Univar had sales of €14.4 billion and $9.5 billion respectively in 2021.