Bemis Healthcare Packaging Europe to merge with Nelipak

Private equity (PE) firm Kohlberg & Company has closed the acquisition of Bemis Healthcare Packaging Europe.

Kohlberg acquired the business from Australian packaging firm Amcor’s Flexible Packaging business unit.

As part of the deal, the PE firm will merge the acquired business unit with its rigid healthcare packaging unit Nelipak.

The operations of Bemis to be merged with Nelipak are located in Clara, Ireland; Derry, Northern Ireland, UK; and Elsham, UK.

The combined business will operate under the Nelipak Healthcare Packaging brand.

Nelipak offers custom-designed rigid healthcare packaging solutions used for Class II and Class III medical devices, and pharma drug delivery products.

Kohlberg partner Seth Hollander said: “Our recent acquisition of Nelipak represented a platform for growth and consolidation. The Bemis acquisition provides a unique opportunity to create global scale and diversification across complementary product offerings.

“This combination provides attractive opportunities for revenue growth from cross-selling and geographic expansion. Mike [Kelly, Nelipak president and CEO] and his team will be better equipped to serve the company’s customers as a comprehensive partner for their packaging needs.”

William Blair acted as financial advisor and Goodwin Procter served as legal counsel to Amcor on the transaction.

Lincoln International served as financial advisor and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison as legal counsel to Kohlberg and Nelipak.

Nelipak president and CEO Mike Kelly said: “We are excited about the addition of the Bemis European Healthcare Packaging business, a great organisation with outstanding people and tremendous capabilities and we proudly welcome the team to Nelipak.

“We will leverage the unique capabilities of both organisations to delight our customers with innovative designs, world class quality, and excellent service. This will significantly enhance Nelipak’s capabilities with the addition of flexible packaging alternatives for our global customers.”

In June this year, Amcor closed the proposed $6.8bn merger with Bemis in an all-stock combination and the combined entity will now operate as Amcor Plc.