Transaction 'creates US-based distributor of scientific supplies as a stand-alone industry leader positioned for growth'
Clayton, Dubilier and Rice (CD and R), a private equity firm, says that an investment fund it manages has completed the purchase of VWR International from Merck for $1.65 billion.
VWR International, based in West Chester, Pennsylvania, is a distributor in North America and Europe of scientific supplies to the industrial, pharmaceutical, educational and government markets.
VWR International has 5880 employees worldwide and 2003 revenues of approximately $2.8 billion, of which approximately two thirds are from North America and the remainder from Europe. Sales in 2003 increased approximately 6% over 2002.
The transaction is one of a series of announcements from CD and R in recent months, including the sale of its Jafra cosmetics division to Vorwerk and the sale of Kinko to FedEx for $2.4 billion. "VWR International is a excellent business and the transaction is precisely the kind for which we are well known - a large divestiture of a captive distributor from a major multinational corporation," said Donald Gogel, chief executive officer CD and R.
"We believe our operationally focused investment model is particularly well suited in situations where the parent organisation has a strong interest in seeing the unit being divested grow and prosper as an independent company".
VWR International will continue to distribute Merck laboratory products.
"VWR International has an extensive network of distribution centers in the USA, long-standing relationships with the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, and the industry's strongest footprint in Europe," said Richard Schnall, a CD and R partner involved in the transaction.
"We have successfully invested in distribution businesses and will utilize that prior experience as we work closely with the management team to accelerate VWR International's growth."
