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Nabarro advises German company Brenntag on international chemical company acquisition

2 September 2011

The Corporate team at Nabarro in Sheffield has drawn on the Firm's commercial expertise and international alliances to advise German client Brenntag, the global market leader in chemical distribution, on a major acquisition of the Multisol Group.

The Multisol Group, which expects sales of £238 million in 2012, is a specialist in the distribution of lubricant additives and base oils in Europe and Africa and works with some of the world's largest producers. The transaction increases Brenntag's capabilities in mixing and blending and marks a step change in expansion of the company's product portfolio.

The Nabarro team was led by corporate partner Ben Hendry supported by senior associate Gareth Saynor, associate Jeremy Thompson and a range of colleagues from Sheffield and London offices as well as alliance and 'best friend' law firms across other jurisdictions, such as France, Russia, South Africa and Spain.

Ben Hendry, partner at Nabarro, said:

"It is always a pleasure to work on a deal which supports the strategic growth of a client's business. The scope of the support Nabarro offered Brenntag and the effectiveness of our international alliances have been clearly demonstrated on a deal which is truly global in scale."

Multisol operates across Europe and Africa with nearly 170 employees complementing Brenntag’s existing distribution network and enlarging its formulation as well as mixing and blending capabilities. At the same time Brenntag expects high synergies from the transaction, both in cross-selling opportunities and further efficiency improvements. By combining sales activities in the UK, Western Europe, CEE and Africa and the cross-selling of Brenntag’s existing product portfolio to Multisol’s customer base, the companies aim for continued growth in existing and new markets.

Steven Holland, CEO of Brenntag, commented:

"Multisol seamlessly fits into our strategic approach to enlarge our product focus of specialty chemicals including value added services in our core markets in the UK, Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe and Africa."

Clare Waters, Managing Director of Brenntag UK and Ireland, said:

"The commercially aware, prompt advice we received from the team at Nabarro and its extended international network played an important part in helping us secure this strategic deal."