Barentz to acquire Maroon Group to strengthen North American business

15 Oct 2020 --- Barentz International, a global distributor of life science ingredients, has entered into a definitive, written agreement to acquire Maroon Group, one of North America’s leading specialty distributors. This acquisition is expected to bring a “series of synergies” for both companies.

Maroon operates at a broad national level in the US market as well as across Canada. The acquisition of a leading North American platform, which is expected to close this quarter, will expand Barentz’s activities and align with Barentz’s strategy to become a global leader in the life science and broader specialty chemical industries, the company notes. 

Terry Hill, CEO of Maroon, and his Management Team will continue to manage the operations.

“Hill brings excellent experience and ‘know-how.’ He has been highly active in the global ingredients industry for more than 30 years,” says Hidde van der Wal, CEO of Barentz.

According to Hill, it was a logical decision to join with Barentz. 

The acquisition is expected to bring a “series of synergies” for both companies. “The deciding factor was that Barentz is already a global business, and this creates tremendous opportunities to strengthen our business in North America and internationally. Barentz is well-known across the industry, we share the same philosophy and entrepreneurial DNA, and is the best possible new home for the stakeholders across our business,” Hill remarks.

“Our product portfolios are very complementary,” continues van der Wal. “We have no conflicts of interest, and we can learn a lot from each other.”

“Maroon has a significant scale in North America – the biggest economy of the world, where we were small, until now,” van der Wal explains.

He continues that the combination will immediately make Barentz a leading global distributor with an excellent opportunity to establish new business segments in North America. “It is a natural combination that enables us to offer quality and expertise to our combined customer base.” 

Kirkland & Ellis represented Barentz in the transaction. Moelis & Company LLC and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP advised Maroon on the transaction. 

Last month, Roquette appointed Barentz as its strategic partner to distribute pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products in the US. Roquette highlights that this appointment brings its collaborative technical expertise to the US, where both companies will benefit from partnering to grow in the pharmaceutical market. 

In May, Barentz acquired US-based Ingredients Inc., a developer and supplier of high-quality ingredients to food and beverage, pet food and nutraceutical manufacturers.

Last November, Barentz acquired a majority shareholding in Czech Republic-based IMCoPharma, which is active in pharmaceutical ingredients. This move gaves Barentz the licensing capability to do business with all pharmaceutical companies in the Commonwealth of Independent States region and Ukraine. 

Edited by Elizabeth Green

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