The Carlyle Group has acquired Greek chemicals distribution business Neochimiki LV Lavrentiadis SA  in a deal valued at €749 million ($1.15 billion), including debt.

The private equity firm bought 73.54 per cent of Neochimiki at €19 ($29.37) a share and simultaneously launched a tender offer for the remainder of its common stock at the same price.

Carlyle, which made the purchases in a series of block deals, said it would help the company expand internationally.

It bought 20 per cent of the shares from Lavrentis Lavrentiadis, former chariman, CEO and son of the founder of Neochimiki.

Neochimiki is expanding its chemicals distribution and production business into the Balkan region.

"This is Carlyle's first investment in a Greek company and reflects our confidence in the country's strong economic growth prospects as well as Greece's position as a gateway to investment in Eastern Europe," Carlyle managing director Robert Eastern said.

Carlyle already has investments in the chemicals sector, including AZ Electronic Materials and H.C. Starck.

A consortium of international and Greek financial institutions will provide financing for the buyout, Carlyle said.

Athens-based Neochimiki distributes chemical raw materials such as plastics, paints and fertilizers to customers in Southern and Eastern Europe.

The company posted an 88 per cent jump in revenue for a total of €469.8 million thanks to acquisitions and new logistics centers. EBITDA rose 153.3 per cent to €83.3 million, from €32.9 million in 2006. The bulk of Neochimiki's 2007 revenue came from domestic operations, which roughly doubled, while its foreign subsidiaries raked in €51.1 million for a 15 per increase over 2006.

This year, it is expected to grow by another 20 per cent, to €100 million.