Diversey to be acquired Apogee expands into France

HP Inc-owned Apogee has signalled its European ambitions with two transactions in France. The UK-based document and IT services firm – acquired by HP in 2018 – has made an unspecified investment in French reseller MCA to form an entity known as MCA-Apogee. Located in the Paris region, the new company will be headed by former MCA CEO Salem el Hammami.

At the same time, MCA-Apogee has bought the print management business of another France-based services provider, AM Trust, creating what Apogee described as “a French leader in managed workplace services”.

Private equity firms Platinum Equity and Bain Capital have engineered a mega-merger in the chemicals and cleaning solutions sector.

Bain, the majority shareholder of Diversey, and Platinum, which owns chemicals company Solenis, have agreed to merge the two businesses. The $4.6 billion deal will effectively see Diversey acquired by Solenis in what is described as a “go private” transaction.

Under the terms of the agreement, Diversey shareholders (other than those affiliated with Bain) will receive $8.40 per share in cash, which represents a premium of approximately 41% over Diversey’s closing share price on 7 March. Bain Capital – which owns about 73% of Diversey – will sell 44% of its stake to Solenis for $7.84 a share in cash. The remaining 56% equity will be exchanged for Solenis shares.

“Apogee will use its experience, and the expertise of AM Trust Group, in financing solutions, data management and digital dematerialisation to complement MCA-Apogee’s portfolio of services, benefiting new and existing customers,” the UK firm stated in a press release.

Apogee CEO Aurelio Maruggi said the investments represented a “significant step” towards establishing a pan-European presence.