Univar to shelve $863 million IPO with partial sale to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice

Univar, one of the world's leading independent chemicals distributors with 170 facilities and over 80,000 customers, is shelving plans for its IPO, opting instead to sell a 42.5% stake to private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, sources reported. The private equity-to-private equity sale, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, values the company at roughly $4.2 billion. Univar's current owner, CVC Capital Partners, will retain a 42.5% stake in the company, with executives and other investors holding the remaining 15%. The Redmond, WA-based chemicals distributor had filed in June to raise up to $863 million in its initial public offering with Goldman, Sachs & Co. and BofA Merrill Lynch set to be the lead underwriters on the deal. Univar was previously listed on the NYSE until it was acquired by a Dutch company in 1996 and then split off and acquired by CVC in 2007 for $1.85 billion. Univar booked a loss of -$29 million on $7.2 billion in sales for the 12 months ended March 31.