Diversey Holdings, Ltd. is an American provider of cleaning and hygiene products. It serves the hospitality, healthcare, food and beverage, food service, retail, and facility management markets. It also provides chemicals, floor care machines, tools and equipment, technology-based value-added services, food safety services, and water and energy management. They have a branch in Mumbai, India under the name Diversey India Hygiene Pvt.Ltd. Diversey extended its Prosumer Solutions to target a large, fragmented market of small professional users. On July 5, 2023, Solenis announced that it had completed its acquisition of the company for $4.6 billion.

History

Diversey Corporation was founded in Chicago in 1923 by August and Herbert Kochs as a division of their Victor Chemical Works

cleaning products Cleaning is the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment. Cleaning is often performed for beauty, aesthetic, hygiene, hygienic, Function (engineering), function ...

company. It was named after nearby Diversey Avenue and became independent in 1950. In 1978, Diversey was acquired by

Molson The Molson Brewery is a Canada-based brewery based in Montreal and was established in 1786 by the Molson family. In 2005, Molson merged with the Adolph Coors Company to become Molson Coors. Molson Coors maintains some of its Canadian operati ...

. Herbert Kochs retired the next year. Molson merged into Diversey another American cleaning chemicals company, BASF Wyandotte Corporation, expanding its presence to 36 countries. In 1996, the now

Northbrook, Illinois Northbrook is a suburb of Chicago, located at the northern edge of Cook County, Illinois, United States, on the border of Lake County, Illinois, Lake County. It is part of a collection of upscale residential communities north of Chicago and belon ...

headquartered Diversey was acquired by

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

, who merged it with Industrial Lever to form DiverseyLever based in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. It was named DiverseyLever from 1996 to 2002. Johnson Wax Professional bought the business from Unilever in 2002, when it became known as JohnsonDiversey, Inc., while Unilever retained an interest in the DiverseyLever unit. Johnson Wax Professional had been a subsidiary of S. C. Johnson & Son until 1999, when it was spun off. In November 2009,

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, LLC (CD&R) is an American private equity company. CD&R is the 24th oldest private equity firm in the world. CD&R has managed the investment of more than $30 billion in approximately 90 businesses, representing a bro ...

acquired 46 percent of JohnsonDiversey. In March 2010, JohnsonDiversey changed its name to Diversey, Inc., with a new tagline, "for a cleaner, healthier future." In February 2011, Curt Johnson stepped down as the head of Diversey following allegations of child sexual assault. In June 2011,

Sealed Air SEE, legally the Sealed Air Corporation, is a packaging company known for its brands: Cryovac food packaging and Bubble Wrap cushioning packaging. With over $5.5+ billion in revenues in 2023, it is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Uni ...

announced that it was purchasing Diversey Holdings for $4.3 billion (9.5x 2010 Adj.

EBITDA A company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (commonly abbreviated EBITDA, pronounced ) is a measure of a company's profitability of the operating business only, thus before any effects of indebtedness, state-mandat ...

of $452mm), and the deal was completed in October that year. Diversey President and CEO Edward Lonergan continued to lead under the new Diversey Care name after the Sealed Air acquisition.

The Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group Inc. is an American multinational company with operations in private equity, alternative asset management and financial services. As of 2023, the company had $426 billion of assets under management. Carlyle specializes in ...

bought Diversey G.K., "Diversey Japan" (an indirect subsidiary of Diversey, Inc.) in November 2012. During its time under Sealed Air, Diversey Care focused on a strategy of technological innovation. This included the launch of the first global range of commercial cleaning robots across the US and Europe, and a digital food safety management platform that helps organizations to achieve regulatory compliance in the food industry. In March 2017,

Bain Capital Bain Capital, LP is an American Investment company, private investment firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, with around $185 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, p ...

announced that it was purchasing the Diversey Care division of Sealed Air for $3.2 billion, with the intention of running Diversey as a standalone company. In August 2017, Dr. Ilham Kadri was named as the president and CEO, and the sale was completed in September 2017. In 2018 the company moved its headquarters to

Fort Mill, South Carolina Fort Mill, also known as Fort Mill Township, is a town in York County, South Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 24,521. Some businesses and residents in th ...

. In October 2018, it was announced that CEO Kadri resigned her position as of December 31, 2018. Diversey CFO Carlos Sagasta, along with Global President Professional Division Gaetano Redaelli, became joint deputy CEOs. On January 1, 2019, Mark Burgess took the position of CEO. On July 14, 2020, Phil Wieland took the position of CEO of Diversey. On March 25, 2021, Diversey filed for an IPO. In March 2023, Solenis, a

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

based specialty chemical company which specializes in water-intensive industries, announced the acquisition of Diversey Holdings for $4.6 Billion, and expects the merger to be completed in the second half of 2023. Solenis plans to turn the company private, and upon completion of the transition, Diversey's ordinary shares will no longer be listed on any public market. On July 5, 2023, Diversey Holdings became part of Solenis after its acquisition was completed.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diversey Holdings 1923 establishments in Illinois 2011 mergers and acquisitions 2017 mergers and acquisitions 2021 initial public offerings Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq 2023 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 1923 Bain Capital companies Chemical companies established in 1923 Chemical companies of the United States Fort Mill, South Carolina Manufacturing companies based in South Carolina