HOOFDDORP, The Netherlands — Barentz International (Barentz), a leading global distributor of life science ingredients, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Maroon Group, one of North America's leading specialty distributors. Maroon operates at a broad national level in the U.S. market as well as across Canada. The acquisition, which is expected to close this quarter, will expand Barentz's activities and is aligned with the company’s strategy to become a global leader in the life science and broader specialty chemical industries.

Maroon Group is a world-class distributor and one of the largest specialty suppliers to the HI&I, personal care and pharmaceutical, food and nutrition, and CASE markets across North America. Founded in 1977 and based in Avon, Ohio, Maroon generates an annual turnover of approximately $500 million and has approximately 300 employees. With leading industry experts, technical know-how, and several specialized application laboratories, Maroon shares Barentz's focus on leveraging industry and technical knowledge to support its suppliers' and customers' business development. Maroon will fit seamlessly into Barentz's global product portfolio and will have access to synergistic business development opportunities across all of North America.

Terry Hill, CEO of Maroon Group, and his entire Management Team will continue to manage the operations. "Terry Hill brings excellent experience and 'know-how'. He also knows my home country The Netherlands and Europe very well and has been highly successful and active in the global ingredients industry for more than 30 years," said Hidde van der Wal, CEO of Barentz. "We are very pleased that he will join the Management Board of Barentz and guide us, with his very talented team of approximately 300 specialists, towards a smooth continuation of excellence and growth of both companies."

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

This acquisition will bring a series of synergies. "Our product portfolios are very complementary," added Hidde van der Wal. "We have no conflicts of interest, and we can learn a lot from each other. Maroon Group has significant scale in North America - the biggest economy of the world, where we were small, until today. 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."