Mondi, a FTSE 100 packaging company that failed in its bid to acquire UK rival DS Smith has acquired a German competitor.
It has acquired western European assets from Schumacher Packaging. This family-run company is based in Germany’s Saxony heartlands.
Mondi said that the deal, worth €634m, is complementary to its existing European assets. The deal includes two “state-of-the-art” box production facilities in Germany – at Ebersdorf the Schumacher headquarters and an underutilised plant in Greven, Westphalia – as well as packaging plants in the UK near Birmingham Airport and assets in the Netherlands.
Mondo’s shares rose 56 1/2p or 4% to £14.60 on the news of the deal, valuing Mondo at approximately £6.2 billion. The shares have been fluctuating since the summer peak of over £16.
Mondi failed in its bid for DS Smith (a fellow FTSE100 group) when it made a £5 billion offer to acquire the company. The US-based International Paper beat Mondi with a higher offer.
Mondi is the former paper-and-packaging arm of South African mining group Anglo American. It was spun off and floated on the London Stock Exchange nearly 20 years ago. The deal has been welcomed by Mondi because it will enhance its operations in Eastern Europe and in consumer goods packaging and ecommerce.
The German assets are of particular interest to it. It said that they were “two mega-box factories… with best-in class production speed, operational efficiency and a highly-skilled workforce”.
Mondi also has a keen interest in Germany, mainly because of the opportunities for ecommerce in the biggest packaging market in Europe. This market is also one which is moving more and more towards environmentally friendly alternatives.
The company stated that the acquired businesses had €66million of operating profit last year. Recent investments in Greven’s capacity could offer the potential for additional profits. For €18million of investment, €22million of cost synergies should be realized.
The deal includes two members of the Schumacher clan, one in the role of a strategic advisor and the other in the position as chief operating officer.
Andrew King, the chief executive of Mondi, said that “Mondi’s enhanced customer proposition will provide a solid platform for future growth.”
Mondi has 22,000 employees in 100 production sites spread across more than 30 countries. These are mainly located in Europe, North America, and Africa.
Anglo American diversified into this sector nearly 60 years before the company was founded. In the 1980s it acquired Austrian companies Frantschach & Neusiedler founded during the height of Austro-Hungarian Empire.
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