Amcor’s $567m deal for flexible packager Alusa

Source:Print21 2016-04-19

Amcor’s $567m deal for flexible packager Alusa

Australian packaging giant Amcor has signed a $A567 million ($US435m) deal to buy South America’s largest flexible packaging business Alusa.

The acquisition doubles the size of Amcor’s recently created flexible packaging business in the Americas and comes three months after the Hawthorn-based company paid $US45 million for Californian flexible packaging business Deluxe Packages.

Alusa – owned by Techpack SA and Nexus Private Equity – has four plants in Chile, Peru, Argentina and Colombia and annual sales of $US375m.

“With the creation of a new Flexibles Americas business group in July 2015, there was an expectation this business could accelerate growth in both North and South America,” said Amcor CEO Ron Delia. “It is pleasing that over a relatively short period of time, our flexible packaging sales in the region will almost double to $US1 billion with the acquisition of Alusa, and the recently completed acquisition of Deluxe Packages.

“A large number of Amcor’s multinational customers operate in South America and this acquisition significantly improves our ability to support their needs and grow with them in these markets,” Delia said.

Amcor, in a statement, described Alusa as the largest flexible packaging maker and supplier in both Chile and Peru, and a leading participant in Colombia and Argentina, with a broad range of capabilities including film extrusion, flexographic and gravure printing and lamination. The company’s four plants join an existing Amcor flexible plant in Brazil. Amcor said it expected Alusa’s profits to reach $US65 million within three years.

Amcor, a global leader in flexible packaging, has made almost 20 acquisitions over the past five years in the rigid plastics, flexible packaging and tobacco packaging markets.

Techpack is listed on the Santiago stock exchange so the deal is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.