For £312 million or about ?365 million, Austrian carton and folding carton producer Mayr-Melnhof (MM) has proposed to acquire one of the three divisions of UK-based Essentra, Essentra Packaging, which is dedicated to packaging for the healthcare and personal care sectors.
"Essentra Packaging is a unique opportunity for MM to become a global player in secondary pharmaceutical packaging enabling more innovation and more investment in sustainability." said in a statement Messrs, "and will position MM as a leading global producer of pharmaceutical packaging."
Essentra Packaging, which employs more than 3,500 people, expects to achieve sales of approximately £370 million (about ?430 million) in 2021. The company has 21 production sites in 10 countries in Europe and North America.
With this external growth, MM Packaging wants to develop in the pharmaceutical secondary packaging segments, strengthen its position in the European market for pharmaceutical cartons and leaflets, thanks in particular to the Swedish group Eson Pac acquired last April and to its activities in France, and extend its presence in the American market. In addition, MM sees significant synergies with the activities of MM Pharma Packaging and MM Board&Paper.
"For us, the Essentra Packaging acquisition is a game changer in the profitable, resilient and growing pharmaceutical packaging market," said Peter Oswald, CEO of MM. "We have identified attractive growth potential and synergies and are well prepared to meet the integration challenge."
The transaction, subject to customary conditions, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2022.
