Brenntag Takes Full Ownership of Crest Chemicals

Brenntag announced the acquisition of the remaining 50 percent of the shares in Crest Chemicals, South Africa, from the AECI Limited Group of companies. Crest has been a 50/50 joint venture between Brenntag and AECI since 2001.

“The full ownership of Crest allows Brenntag to develop the business in the desired direction and to fully leverage its growth potential,” said Karsten Beckmann, member of the Board of Management of Brenntag Group and CEO Brenntag Europe, Middle East and Africa. “Combining Crest with Brenntag South Africa will support us in providing a rather complete product and industry sector offering.”

Crest, based in Midrand/Johannesburg, is a distributor and reseller of chemicals to a broad range of South African industries including industrial, paint and Coatings, food, as well as mining and water. 

“We expect to realize cost synergies and convert cross selling opportunities by combining Crest and Brenntag South Africa since both companies have complementary product lines,” said Anthony Gerace, Brenntag Group’s managing director Mergers & Acquisitions. “In addition, Brenntag will benefit from Crest’s mixing and blending capabilities, a service that is increasingly requested by customers.”

The acquired business generated sales of approximately €95 million in the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2018. Closing of the transaction is subject to certain conditions precedent. It is expected to be finalized before the end of 2019.