SOUTH AFRICA – Australian packaging and converting company Amcor is set to acquire South African flexible packaging leader Nampak Flexibles for ZAR 250 million (USD 22 million).
Nampak Flexibles has extrusion, lamination and conversion capabilities across three plants in South Africa, and generates sales of approximately ZAR1.1 billion (USD 94 million) per annum.
The business services leading multi-national and domestic customers in the beverage, food and home care end markets.
According to Nampak, the sale of the flexibles business is “part of Nampak’s strategic portfolio optimisation to unlock cash from low margin businesses to redeploy into high-yield and high growth opportunities on the rest of the African continent”.
The sale of the company to Amcor Flexibles South Africa Proprietary Limited, (“Amcor”), a member of the Amcor Group, a global packaging group which supplies a broad range of flexible and rigid plastic packaging products, will be between R250 and R300 million, dependent on the profitability of the Flexible business during the 12 month period to 30 June 2016.
The sale is in line with Nampak’s stated strategy of focusing on core product segments, namely metals, glass and rigid plastic, in South Africa and the rest of Africa.
The sale is subject to a number of conditions including approval from the competition authorities in South Africa and is expected to close in the second half of the 2015.
The acquisition of Nampak Flexibles is part of Amcor group’s strategy to grow into Africa.
“This acquisition provides a platform for growth in the African region. Nampak Flexibles has an experienced management team and is the market leader in South Africa. It services many of Amcor’s existing global customers and creates the opportunity to leverage our product innovation and design capabilities into this market.” said Amcor CEO and Managing Director, Ken MacKenzie
