Sonoco completes acquisition of Weidenhammer Packaging Group
By Canadian Packaging Staff
General acquisition composite cans composite drums rigid plastic containers Sonoco Weidenhammer Packaging GroupCash deal for composite can manufacturer costs a cool $360 million.
Hartsville, SC—Sonoco, one of the largest diversified global packaging companies, has, as of October 31, 2014, announced it has completed the acquisition of Weidenhammer Packaging Group (WPG), Europe’s leading provider of composite cans along with composite drums and rigid plastic containers, for €286 million, or approximately $360 million, in cash.
According to Sonoco president and chief executive officer Jack Sanders, “We are extremely excited to welcome Weidenhammer’s leadership team and its 1,100 associates into the Sonoco family. The acquisition creates a global leader in rigid paper packaging and is expected to increase Sonoco’s combined global consumer-related packaging and services business to approximately $2.8 billion in annual sales or approximately 53 percent of the Company’s combined revenue of approximately $5.4 billion. In addition, the combination is expected to increase Sonoco’s net sales in Europe to approximately 21 percent of total sales.”
Headquartered in Hockenheim, Germany, Weidenhammer has approximately 1,100 employees and operates 13 production facilities, including five in Germany, along with individual plants in Belgium, France, Greece, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, U.S., Chile and Russia.
In addition to producing composite cans, drums and luxury tubes, WPG produces unique rigid plastic containers using state-of-the-art thin-walled injection molding technology with modern in-mold labeling. Markets served by the company include processed foods, powdered beverages, tobacco, confectionery, personal care, pet food, pharmaceuticals and home and garden products. Further information is available on the Internet at www.weidenhammer.de/en/home.
Founded in 1899, Sonoco is a global provider of a variety of consumer packaging, industrial products, protective packaging, and displays and packaging supply chain services. With annualized combined sales of approximately $5.4 billion, the company has more than 21,000 employees working in more than 340 operations in 34 countries, serving some of the world’s best known brands in some 85 nations. Sonoco is a proud member of the 2014/2015 Dow Jones Sustainability World Index.
For more information, visit www.sonoco.com.
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