Univar and CHEMCENTRAL Agree to Revised Merger Terms


ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands, March 21 /- Univar N.V. (Euronext Amsterdam: UNIVR), a world leader in chemical distribution, today announced that its US subsidiary, Univar USA, has entered into a revised agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of CHEMCENTRAL Corporation.

Univar originally announced on March 12, 2007, that its US subsidiary, Univar USA, had entered into an agreement to acquire CHEMCENTRAL for approximately USD 600 million. Subsequently, on March 19, 2007, Univar announced it had been notified by CHEMCENTRAL of a competing acquisition proposal by Brenntag Holding GmbH.

The revised merger agreement increases the purchase price to USD 650 million, prohibits CHEMCENTRAL from soliciting or considering other proposals to acquire the company, and requires CHEMCENTRAL to discontinue further acquisition discussions with Brenntag Holding GmbH, in addition to certain other changes.

In a separate agreement, certain senior officers and the Board of Directors of CHEMCENTRAL have committed to vote their shares in favor of a merger with Univar and against other proposals.

Completion of the merger is conditional upon receipt of regulatory approvals and approval by CHEMCENTRAL shareholders, and is expected to be closed in April 2007.

About Univar

Univar N.V. (Euronext Amsterdam: UNIVR) is one of the world's leading independent distributors of industrial chemicals and providers of related specialty services, operating throughout North America and Europe. Univar endeavors to service its customer base, made up of some 250,000 industrial customers, with a full portfolio of products. The majority are commodities that the company buys in bulk, then processes, blends and repacks to meet the diverse requirements of the industries we serve. Others are specialties-purchased pre-packaged and sold on a technical basis, usually under a manufacturer's own brand. As well as differentiating ourselves through our vast product offering, Univar also provides a number of related services, both to its customers and suppliers, such as blending, managing customer inventories, packaging, labeling, warehouse management, waste management, technical support and managing vendor reduction programs. Univar operates a network of 160 distribution centers, located throughout the United States, Canada and 18 European countries. In 2006, Univar generated net sales of USD 6.6 billion and operating income (EBIT) of USD 238.6 million. Univar has approximately 6,900 employees based throughout North America and Europe. The company's registered office is in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with administrative support offices in Bellevue, Washington, USA, and Bradford, England, UK. For more information, visit: www.univarcorp.com

FCMN Contact: karen.webermillstein@univarusa.com

Source: Univar

CONTACT:
Gregg Sloate of Univar N.V.,
Director of Investor Relations,
+1 310 722 1363, or fax, +1 425 638 4953, or
+gregg.sloate@univarcorp.com,

or

Claire Verhagen of Citigate First Financial,
+31 (0)20 575 40 18 , or fax,
+31 (0)20 575 40 20,
or claire.verhagen@citigateff.nl

Web site: www.univarcorp.com/

Web site: http://www.univarusa.com/

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