Nicholas Mockett, head of packaging M&A at Moorgate Capital, described the sale as “the most significant deal in the flexible packaging industry since Amcor’s acquisition of Alcan assets in 2009”.
“The strong interest in the business demonstrates the attractive markets it operates in, which are growing and also defensive,” said Mockett. “Flexible packaging and film are growth markets globally and Constantia serves attractive segments such as food and healthcare, which are benefitting from the ageing population, increasing population, and burgeoning middle class.”
Constantia Flexibles is currently owned by One Equity Partners, which acquired a 75% stake in the business through its acquisition of Constantia Packaging in 2009, and the H Turnauer Foundation which holds the remaining 25% stake.
Wendel Group’s offer values Constantia Flexibles at around €2.3bn (nine times estimated 2014 EBITDA) and is expected to close in the first half of 2015, at which point Wendel will become the majority shareholder alongside significant minority shareholders.
Constantia Flexibles was founded in the 1960s by Herbert Turnauer and is headquartered in Vienna, Austria. It specialises in flexible packaging for the food, pet food, pharmaceuticals and beverage industries and has 43 industrial sites spread across 18 countries worldwide, including two in the UK (in Sittingbourne and Cwmbran).
The company has grown rapidly in recent years, acquiring five businesses since 2010 with a combined turnover of over €500m, including Tobepal, Asas, Globalpack, Spear and Parikh. Wendel Group said that Constantia was “uniquely placed to continue winning market share and to play a decisive role in the consolidation of the flexible packaging industry”.
Frédéric Lemoine, chairman of Wendel’s executive board, said: “Constantia Flexibles is a very strong industrial company and one of the world’s leaders in packaging solutions. The segment in which the company specializes, flexible packaging, is being buoyed by underlying, worldwide market trends, and in the future, Constantia Flexibles will be able to grow both by organic means and by acquisition, as the market is still very fragmented.
“Moreover, the company has been developed by a very entrepreneurial Austrian family, and Wendel would be pleased to enter into a cooperation agreement with the Herbert-Turnauer Foundation, which plays an active role as a minority shareholder in Constantia Flexibles. This acquisition represents a significant milestone in Wendel’s 2013-17 strategy, which consists in investing €2 billion in the top-tier unlisted companies in Africa, North America and Europe.”
Thomas Unger, chief executive of Constantia Flexibles, added: “In recent years, Constantia Flexibles has developed from a regionally-focused provider in Europe into a globally-active group present in the most attractive and fastest growing markets for flexible packaging. We have positioned the company outstandingly for further profitable growth, and we will be working with our new owner to realize this potential in the future.”
