Acquisition of Benteler Distribution

On 31 July 2019, the Van Leeuwen Pipe and Tube Group entered into an agreement to acquire Benteler Distribution, a division of Benteler International AG. Benteler Distribution is an international distribution company offering a full range of carbon and stainless steel tubes and customized services, operating in the mechanical engineering, automotive, energy, construction and ship-building industries. The acquisition closed on receipt of all necessary approvals from relevant regulatory authorities on 29 November 2019, marking a historic step in Van Leeuwen's 95-year history, underlining our ambition to be the leading company in our industry.

This strategic acquisition of Benteler Distribution provides Van Leeuwen access to additional key markets in Europe and contributes to our position as a leading distributor of pipe and tube materials, creating opportunities to expand our range of products, value added services and treatments for our customers. The scale of the combined companies will enable further development of innovative solutions for our customers. It also facilitates optimized and specialized stocks within proximity of our customers and investments in IT supported customer interfaces and effective distribution. With the acquisition of Benteler Distribution, approximately 1,600 employees in 59 locations, including storage facilities, across 24 countries were added to the Van Leeuwen Pipe and Tube Group. This addition significantly expanded Van Leeuwen's global presence, specifically in Germany, Switzerland, Scandinavia and Central Europe.

After closing the transaction at the end of November 2019, we started working on integrating the Benteler Distribution and Van Leeuwen organizations. We welcomed 1,600 new colleagues to our Van Leeuwen family. Their expertise, market knowledge and dedication are of great value to us. Knowledge and ideas about business, products, solutions for customers, value added services, logistics solutions, project management and international distribution were exchanged between the professionals and teams of both companies. Experts in pipe and tube found each other and engaged in a joint effort to fulfill our internal slogan: making more together.

During 2020 a lot of effort will be devoted to building a single new company. Renaming of Benteler Distribution companies to Van Leeuwen companies and launching the Van Leeuwen brand on different markets and to customers have started. Integration of ICT systems, business processes and organizational structures is progressing.

With the acquisition the company will double its scale and size, creating possibilities to further invest in the development of systems, solutions and infrastructure that will offer our customers an even broader range of pipe and tube products and value added services. We will be a more attractive partner for our suppliers. For our staff and future workforce we will be an employer that offers great opportunities to work in a globally operating company with professional and specialized colleagues.

The 2019 profit and loss account includes Benteler Distribution’s income and expenses from the closing date of 29 November 2019 until 31 December 2019.