Barentz Buys Maroon Group

Barentz International (“Barentz”), a global distributor of life science ingredients, has entered into a definitive, written agreement to acquire Maroon Group (“Maroon”). A purchase price was not disclosed. 

Maroon has annual sales of $500 million and 300 employees. It operates at a broad national level in the US market as well as across Canada. The acquisition of this leading North American platform, which is expected to close this quarter, will expand Barentz' activities and is aligned with Barentz' strategy to become a global leader in the life science and broader specialty chemical industries.

“Our product portfolios are very complementary,” said Barentz CEO 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.”

Barentz is an ingredient distributor for the human nutrition, pharmaceutical, personal care and animal nutrition markets. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Barentz distributes ingredients for products to small- and medium-sized enterprises and large customers globally. The group sources branded specialty ingredients from leading manufacturers worldwide and its ingredients experts provide value-added technical support (including pre-mixing, blending, ingredient formulation and ingredient testing) from its state-of-the-art, customized formulation centers and application laboratories in EMEA, the Americas and Asia-Pacific. Established in 1953, Barentz has operations in more than 60 countries with a strong presence in Europe and Asia, and a growing presence in North America and Latin America. Today, the company employs around 1,100 people worldwide, sources ingredients from top global suppliers and serves over 15,000 customers.

Terry Hill, CEO of Maroon Group, and his entire management team will continue to manage the operations. Hill said the sale was a logical decision.

“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,” Hill remarked.