October 19 2015, David R Brown
Azelis significantly expands its North American business with the acquisition of the KODA Distribution Group
Azelis have announced that they have signed a binding agreement to acquire the US-based KODA Distribution Group (KDG) which will significantly enhance their position as a leading global specialty chemicals distributor. The transaction remains subject to regulatory clearances and is expected to be finalised by the end of 2015.
Being part of the Azelis Group will provide a strong platform for increased growth and widespread benefits of being part of a global organisation with a regional focus
Frank Bergonzi
CEO and President of KDG
KDG will become known as Azelis Americas and will continue to be led by Frank Bergonzi, current CEO and President of KDG who will also be joining the Azelis Board of Directors. Azelis Americas will continue to operate in the USA and Canada selling specialty chemicals through its existing regional brands and industry verticals. The move is seen as extremely positive development by both parties who cite numerous opportunities to better serve customers and principals worldwide.
Frank Bergonzi, CEO and President of KDG commented, “Being part of the Azelis Group will provide a strong platform for increased growth and widespread benefits of being part of a global organisation with a regional focus. This agreement will allow us to be closer to our principals and engage with them on a global level, helping to facilitate new opportunities for our future development. The Azelis approach to the specialty chemicals market aligns extremely well with the KDG model.”
Hans Joachim Müller, CEO Azelis commented, “The specialty chemicals market in North America is extremely important and the trend of suppliers moving their smaller accounts to specialty chemical distributors will continue for some time. As we got to know the team at KDG, it became clear that they share our values and we believe that they are an excellent partner to expand our business into the USA and build on our existing business in Canada. We are excited to welcome KDG to the Azelis Group.”
In 2014 Koda Distribution reported sales of around $600M but this is expected to rise to over $700M in 2015 fuelled by the recent acquisitions of Unipex Canada and Colonial Specialty Chemicals (CSC). Azelis has also reported a stronger performace in the last 12 months with investments in laboratory facilities, new products and customer-facing employees helping to drive Azelis' year on year growth to more than 10% in Europe and more than 15% in Asia Pacific.
About Azelis
Azelis is a leading global specialty chemicals distributor providing a wide range of products and services to over 20,000 customers in the personal care, pharma, food and health, animal nutrition, homecare and industrial cleaning, coatings, lubricants and metal working fluids, rubber & plastic additives and chemicals industries. Azelis has a turnover of €1 billion and employs around 1,100 people located in more than 37 facilities in 35 countries across Europe, China, Australia, Canada, India, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Morocco.
Source(s): Azelis Press Release
Further Information
Visit: http://www.azelis.com