August 3 2015, David R Brown

Safic-Alcan, a leading specialty chemicals distributor in Europe, has announced that it has acquired the distribution business of Chimsnab BG, a significant player in chemical distribution in Bulgaria. Founded in 1966, Chimsnab BG is one of the oldest distributors of specialty chemicals and polymers in in the region.

We see strategic opportunities to move into the specialty polymers business in Eastern Europe through the acquisition of local partners who bring know-how

Martial Lecat
CEO of Safic-Alcan

Spelling out the rationale behind the sale, Martial Lecat, CEO of Safic-Alcan explained: “This acquisition will be used as a sourcing platform to further enlarge the product range of Safic-Alcan with some selected polymers and high performance compounds allowing it to serve most of its customers in the South Eastern Europe zone.”

Chimsnab BG operates with 2 regional offices, in Sofia and Ruse. Strategically located on the Romanian border and near Serbia, Ruse will also be used as a regional logistics hub. With a portfolio of 900 active customers, Chimsnab BG operates mainly in Bulgaria and has limited exports in the neighboring Balkan countries (2%). In 2014, revenues reached approximately €9 million covering a wide range of products, from coatings and industrials to food and beverage, to life science and EPDM flooring. All the 18 employees have already been transferred to the new company.

“We see strategic opportunities to move into the specialty polymers business in Eastern Europe through the acquisition of well-implemented local partners who bring their know-how, their local environment and their markets. Acquiring an existing business saves us a lot of time compared with our alternative strategy of opening new subsidiaries in Eastern Europe.” concluded Martial Lecat.

The deal follows hot on the heels of Safic-Alcan's purchase of a majority stake in Chemspec, a US specialty chemical distributor focused on the on rubber and adhesives industries.

About Safic-Alcan
Safic-Alcan, a French multinational distributor of specialty chemicals, develops and provides a large range of polymers, materials and additives for the rubber, coatings, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics industries. The Group is present in all major countries of the European Union, as well as in Turkey, and China with on-going strategic development in Eastern European countries. Safic-Alcan posted nearly 403 M€ of revenues in 2014. The company is led by Martial Lecat, Philippe Combette and Jean-Michel Guyon.

Source(s): Safic-Alcan Press Release

Further Information

Visit: http://www.safic-alcan.com