New Year, new acquisitions for RPC Group

RPC Group has started the New Year with a spate of acquisitions involving companies operating in the rigid plastic packaging markets.

The first acquisition is the UK-based Maynard & Harris Group Limited (M&H), a major supplier of rigid plastic packaging to the personal care, healthcare and selected food segments, across all blow moulding and injection moulding conversion processes, for £103.5m.

M&H will operate as an independent business within RPC’s Bramlage cluster and RPC says it will enhance the Group’s leading personal care product offering in the UK, mainland Europe and the US.

Pim Vervaat, Chief Executive of RPC, commented: “Following the announcement of ‘Vision 2020’ in November, the acquisition of M&H represents an important step in realising RPC’s strategy of selective consolidation in Europe and the creation of a meaningful presence outside of Europe.

“M&H is a well-established and highly respected business, which has a good strategic fit with RPC. It operates in our core geographic and product markets and complements the Group’s existing market positions very well.”

RPC says M&H’s growing business in the US offers the Group a stronger platform from which to invest in profitable growth going forward, as well as extending the Group’s product ranges to include flexible tubes and a range of personal care packaging for short production runs and over-the-counter healthcare container designs.

The second acquisition is Bosnia and Herzegovina-based supplier of injection moulded rigid plastic packaging, Helioplast.

Generating circa £7m of annual sales, Helioplast manufacturers a range of packaging for consumer food segments.

Having supplied customers in Bosnia and neighbouring Croatia for many years, RPC says Helioplast has also more recently made in-roads into additional export markets in the Balkan region as well as the wider southeastern European region.

“Helioplast occupies a leading position in its home markets and is a strong complementary fit with the Superfos cluster. With the support of Superfos, the Helioplast team has an exciting opportunity to further grow its business across a number of key export markets, commented” Vervaat.

Suad Helić, Managing Director of Helioplast and one of the selling shareholders, will continue to lead the Helioplast business with support from the RPC Superfos cluster.

RPC has funded both acquisitions from existing debt facilities and expects them to be earnings enhancing for the Group in the next financial year ending 31 March 2015.