Univar’s takeover of US chemicals distribution company Chemcentral was thrown into doubt on Monday after German company Brenntag made a higher offer than the Rotterdam firm. Univar brought out a €600m binding offer for Chemcentral last week and signed a deal with the Americans.

Brenntag has made a preliminary offer of €700m but has not yet examined Chemcentral’s books. Chemcentral has three days to tell Univar whether it accepts the German offer.