US-based plastic packaging products maker Berry Global Group has offered to purchase global supplier of plastic packaging RPC Group for a total consideration of approximately £5bn ($6.5bn).
Berry’s recommended superior offer includes the acquisition of all the issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of RPC for £7.93 per share in cash, including refinancing of RPC’s net debt.
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RPC offers plastic and recycled products for packaging and selected non-packaging markets. It currently operates 153 manufacturing locations across 33 countries with approximately 25,000 employees.
Berry Global chairman and CEO Tom Salmon said: “We are extremely excited about the opportunity to welcome the team and global capabilities of RPC to the Berry organisation.
“We are highly impressed by the tremendous depth of talent and resources embedded within RPC, and are looking forward to the opportunity to strengthen our combined platform with the wealth of experience and expertise this team has to offer.
“We believe this transaction will further enhance the long-term outlook for our business and will provide a unique value creation opportunity for our shareholders.”
RPC Group board of directors has unanimously recommended the offer by Berry. The transaction is currently subject to customary closing conditions and will close in the third quarter of this year.
Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo have offered a fully committed debt financing package to Berry to fund the transaction.
Salmon added: “We plan to leverage our combined know-how in material science, product development, supply chain and manufacturing technologies across resin-based applications to integrate quickly and build a best-in-class organisation.”
Following the transaction, the merged entity will have an employee base of around 48,000 across six continents.
