Sonoco, a diversified global packaging company, has acquired Associated Packaging Technologies (APT), North American manufacturer and supplier of Crystallized Polyethylene Terepthalate (CPET) containers, to the frozen food industry. The transaction closed on June 29, 2010.
The purchase price of the transaction was nearly $120m which includes the cost of paying off various obligations of APT and is subject to certain possible adjustments.
According to Sonoco, the acquisition is expected to be modestly accretive in 2010 and generate annualized sales of approximately $150m. Sonoco has around 300 operations in 35 countries, serving customers in some 85 nations.
APT provides dual-ovenable, food packaging to the frozen food industry in North America, Europe and Australia/New Zealand. The company operates four CPET thermoforming manufacturing facilities in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada; Chillicothe, Missouri; Waynesville, North Carolina; and Carrickmacross, Ireland, and employs around 400 workers. It is also a developer of recycled PET (RePET) frozen food trays.
DeLoach, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Sonoco, said: “With this acquisition, Sonoco has significantly expanded its existing thermoforming plastic container capabilities into the growing global frozen, chilled and ready-to-eat food markets.
“While APT is today the leading global supplier of CPET containers, we believe its proprietary material formulations and rotary thermoforming technology provide a strong platform for significant product development and growth. In addition, this acquisition will help accelerate Sonoco’s current development of multilayer barrier polypropylene food containers.”