Private equity and investment advisory firm CVC Capital Partners have signed a binding agreement to acquire ÅR Packaging Group AB. Under the terms of the transaction, CVC will acquire 100% of the company from its current owners, Ahlstrom Capital and Accent Equity.
Founded in 2011 through the merger of A&R Carton and Flextrus, AR Packaging is one of Europe’s leading packaging companies with sales of approximately 560 MEUR (pro forma 2015) and 2 200 employees across 17 factories in 9 countries. The company has performed strongly in recent years, posting a 27% increase in net sales last year.
Headquartered in Lund, Sweden, the group is divided into three divisions: Branded Products, Barrier Packaging and Food Packaging. Its products and solutions are predominantly used for folding carton and flexible packaging, as well as machinery systems, packaging design and development. AR Packaging has long-standing customer relationships with many of the world’s leading consumer brands in the food and tobacco segments.
“We are on an exciting trajectory, building on last year’s strong performance and operational progress, and I would like to take this moment to thank Ahlstrom Capital and Accent Equity for their support over the last years,” said Harald Schulz, President and CEO of AR Packaging. “We are now well placed for the next phase of our development and CVC’s expertise, financial resources and global network make them the perfect partner to help us achieve our long-term growth ambitions.”
Peter Törnquist, Chairman, CVC Nordic, said: “AR Packaging is a key player in the European packaging space with an excellent management team, a strong product portfolio and many strategic client relationships. We believe there are significant opportunities to grow the business organically and through acquisitions while continuing to put our customers first. We look forward to deploy CVC’s global resources and to work with AR Packaging’s management team and employees in achieving their vision for the future.”
Hans Sohlström, CEO of Ahlstrom Capital, said: “Ahlström Capital has been the main shareholder in AR Packaging and its predecessor A&R Carton since 2000. It has been a pleasure to work with the management to build AR Packaging into a leading speciality packaging company that now stands on a strong footing to pursue the next steps in its development. In CVC, the company will have a strong and global partner for the future and I would like to wish them and the management team all success in the next phase of the Company’s international growth.”
Jan Ohlsson, chairman and founder of Accent Equity Partners AB, investment advisor to Accent Equity, added: “We would like to thank the employees and management team of AR Packaging for a close and productive cooperation over the past years. The company is now well placed to continue its expansion and we wish them every success as they continue their journey with CVC.”
The completion of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory clearances.
