Pharmaceutical packaging maker Gerresheimer is buying plastic vials and oral drug closures maker Centor US Holding for $725m, under an agreement signed with Nemera Development.
The transaction, involving an all-cash acquisition that is fully debt financed, is likely to close later this year. Centor will be merged with the plastics and devices division of Gerresheimer.
Gerresheimer CEO Uwe Rohrhoff said: "Centor is the highly profitable market leader for plastic vials and closures in the prescription retail market. This is a perfect fit to extend our product offering from packaging of parenterals to the packaging of oral drugs in the US."
Established in 1968, Centor supplies Screw-Loc and 1-Clic plastic vials to consumers through pharmacy chains, supermarkets and wholesalers.
The firm, which posted revenues worth $167m in 2014, is a carve-out of Nemera Group, a former business of Rexam Healthcare divested in 2014. Formerly known as Rexam Prescription Products, it was renamed to Centor in 2014.
Centor president Paul Arsenault said: "We are happy to join the Gerresheimer Group with its high expertise in primary pharmaceutical packaging. In the future we will contribute to Gerresheimer's success with our market leadership in the North American prescription plastic vial retail market."
Gerresheimer manufactures insulin pens, pre-fillable syringes, vials, bottles and containers for liquid and solid pharmaceuticals across its 40 production facilities in Europe, the Americas and Asia. It generates revenue of around €1.3bn.
