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NEWS RELEASE

July 16, 1996

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                  For Further Information
                                       Gary E. Pruitt
                                       Vice President & CFO
                                       (206) 889-3440

                ROYAL PAKHOED COMPLETES TENDER OFFER FOR UNIVAR

(KIRKLAND, Wash., July 16, 1996)-Univar Corporation (NYSE: UVX), today reported
that approximately 14,600,000 shares have been tendered to Royal Pakhoed N.V.
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This amount, combined with the 28.09 percent already owned by Pakhoed and its
affiliates, raises Royal Pakhoed's total ownership of Univar common stock to
approximately 95.5 percent and completes the Pakhoed tender offer.
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On June 3, 1996, Royal Pakhoed announced a tender offer for all of the
outstanding common shares of Univar Corporation at a price of $19.45 per share.
The tender offer expired at 8:00 p.m., eastern time, on Monday, July 15, 1996.
Payment to Univar shareholders who have tendered their shares will begin in
five business days.

Under Royal Pakhoed's agreement with Univar, it will acquire in a cash merger
at $19.45 per share, the remaining Univar common shares that have not been
tendered. The cash out of the approximately 975,000 remaining shares is
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expected to be completed in the next few months.

Univar Corporation, headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, is the
multi-national leader in the distribution of chemicals and allied products to
industry through three subsidiaries, Van Waters & Rogers Inc. in the United
States, Van Waters & Rogers Ltd. in Canada, and Univar Europe N.V. in Europe.

Royal Pakhoed N.V., (a translation of Koninklijke Pakhoed N.V.), is a limited
liability company formed under the laws of the Netherlands and operates
numerous tank storage facilities in Europe, the United States, and Asia for
storage of chemicals and oil, and conducts worldwide shipping and distribution
operations, primarily in Europe. Pakhoed's shares are traded on the Amsterdam
and London Stock Exchanges.

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                      [KONINKLIJKE PAKHOED NV LETTERHEAD]

  Persbericht
Press release

              TENDER OFFER PAKHOED FOR UNIVAR SUCCESSFUL

              Royal Pakhoed announces that as a result of the tender offer made
              by Pakhoed on June 3, 1996 on the shares of Univar Corporation
              quoted at the New York Stock Exchange, Pakhoed's interest in
              Univar increases from 28.09 percent to approximately 95.5 percent.
              The tender offer expired on July 15, 1996, 08.00 p.m. New York
              time. Pakhoed offered USD 19.45 per Univar share.

              The remaining shares in Univar, representing approximately 4.5
              percent of the total outstanding shares, will be acquired by a
              merger in the United States.

              The acquisition of Univar fits in Pakhoed's strategy to focus on
              logistics and distribution activities for the global oil- and 
              chemical industry.

              With a turnover of USD 2 billion, Univar is one of the largest
              companies in the world in the field of chemical distribution.
              Univar is market leader in the United States and Canada and in
              Europe it is mainly active in the United Kingdom, Scandinavia and
              Switzerland. Through Lambert Riviere, Pakhoed has chemical
              distribution activities particularly in France, Italy, Spain and
              Portugal. Together these companies will become the largest
              chemical distribution enterprise in the world.

              Rotterdam, 16 July, 1996





              For further information:

              F.J.A. Jumelet, Legal Counsel
              Telephone: +31 (0) 10 400 24 07