Brenntag Enters into Agreements to Acquire two Leading US Lubricants Distributors

Brenntag, the global market leader in chemical distribution, today announces an expansion of its lubricants business in North America by signing agreements to acquire two leading distributors J.A.M. Distributing Company, LLC, and related entities, headquartered in Houston, Texas, and G.H. Berlin-Windward, headquartered in Manchester, New Hampshire.

J.A.M. and G.H. Berlin-Windward are distributing across the entire lubricant supply chain in a broad range of customer industries. Both companies offer integrated product and service solutions focused on a wide range of lubricants servicing to industrial, commercial, automotive, and marine end markets throughout the Gulf Coast, Texas and the northeast United States respectively.

Steven Holland, CEO Brenntag Group: “Both acquisitions are a significant investment in rebalancing our industry mix in North America and complement our existing business in the less volatile lubricants market. This represents a strategic review and shift to counteract the structural change in oil & gas earnings in North America.”

Markus Klähn, Member of the Management Board of Brenntag Group and CEO Brenntag North America: “Both companies are valuable additions to our existing business in the lubricants distribution market which is attractive in terms of size, growth and profitability. Moreover, the market is still very fragmented. Together, J.A.M. and G.H. Berlin-Windward will be an excellent platform for growth in this consolidating market. They will further diversify our industry portfolio and solidify our strong market position in lubricant distribution in North America.”

The combined companies are expected to contribute sales of approximately 780 million USD in the financial year 2016. The closing of the transactions will occur in the course of the next weeks, subject to contractually agreed closing conditions.