VWR International, Inc., West Chester, PA, a distributor to the global research laboratory industry, announced that Goldman Sachs & Co. and Banc of America Securities LLC have been retained to explore strategic options for VWR.

 

VWR is owned by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, which bought the company from Merck KGaA of Germany for $1.65 billion in April 2004.

 

John Ballbach, president and CEO of VWR, said, "As this process moves forward, we remain committed to maintaining our strong relationships with our customers and suppliers and to the continued growth of our business."

 

The company does not expect to disclose further developments regarding the process until the review of strategic options has been completed.

 

VWR International is a lab supply distributor with sales in excess of $3 billion. VWR's principal customers are major pharmaceutical, biotechnology, chemical, technology, clinical, food processing and consumer product companies, universities and research institutes, governmental agencies, environmental testing organizations, and primary and secondary schools. VWR distributes a diversified product mix, including chemicals, glassware and plasticware, equipment and instruments, furniture, protective apparel, production and safety products, and other life science and laboratory products and supplies. VWR maintains operations in over 20 countries and employs over 6,000 people worldwide.