Weidenhammer Packaging, headquartered in Hockenheim, Germany, is one of Europe’s leading providers of composite cans, drums and luxury tubes with around £1,100 employees and operates numerous production facilities across Europe.
Sales for 2014 are forecast at 244m (194m), and projected EBITDA is expected to be approximately 42m (33m).
Markets served by the company include processed foods, powdered beverages, tobacco, confectionery, personal care, pet food, pharmaceuticals and home and garden products.
Sonoco intends to fund the acquisition through a combination of existing cash and debt with an estimated combined net credit leverage ratio of 1.75 times at closing.
The deal is expected to increase Sonoco’s consumer-related packaging and services business to approximately $2.8bn (1.7bn) in annual sales and boost its European net sales by 21%.
M. Jack Sanders, Sonoco president and chief executive officer, said: “Combining Weidenhammer’s state-of-the-art production and technological capability places Sonoco in a leading position to provide its global consumer product customers with unparalleled packaging expertise throughout North America and Europe, and creates a strong presence in the emerging markets of Southeast Asia, China, Eastern Europe and South America.”
Weidenhammer Packaging is held by the Weidenhammer family, who founded the company in 1955.
"We have promoted WPG’s business development with a lot of passion and personal commitment. The decision to sell our shares was not an easy one“, said Ralf Weidenhammer, chief executive and one of the managing partners at Weidenhammer. “However, we are convinced that the merger is the right step at the right time, and that it will open up new and important future perspectives to WPG and its employees.”
Macquarie Capital served as a financial advisor to Sonoco. Weidenhammer was represented by Deloitte Corporate Finance Advisory.
