Leading chemicals distributor Univar files for $863 million IPO

Univar, one of the world's leading independent chemicals distributors with 170 facilities and over 80,000 customers, filed on Wednesday with the SEC to raise up to $863 million in an initial public offering. The Redmond, WA-based company was founded in 1924 and has since acquired companies including McKesson Chemical, Ellis & Everard and Chemcentral; it currently boasts a #1 market position in the US and Canada and a #2 market position in Europe, according to the S-1. It was listed on the NYSE until it was acquired by a Dutch company in 1996 and then split off and acquired by private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for $1.85 billion in 2007. The distributor booked a loss of -$29 million on $7.2 billion in sales for the 12 months ended March 31. Goldman, Sachs & Co. and BofA Merrill Lynch are the lead underwriters on the deal, for which terms and timing were not disclosed.