Chemical Distributor Univar Seeks IPO

Univar, North America's largest chemical distributor, is pursuing a stock market launch, with Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs as the lead underwriters.

The company based in the US state of Illinois, whose stakeholders include private equity firms CVC Capital Partners and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, has 700 distribution facilities in more than 150 countries. It sources chemicals from over 8,800 producers worldwide, including Dow, ExxonMobil and Eastman.

CVC took Univar private in 2007 for $2.1 billion. In 2010, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice acquired a 42.5%, placing in parity with CVC, with the company's management owning the rest.

Univar has set an initial target of up to $100 million for the ipo but has not yet disclosed how many shares it plans to sell or on which exchange it intends to list its shares. In April of this year, sources told the news agency Reuters the company was exploring an ipo worth more than $6 billion.

In 2013, Univar's net sales rose 6% to $10.3 billion in 2013. Its net loss narrowed to $82.3 million from $197.4 million in 2012.