RPC Group to acquire closures specialist GCS for €650 million

The RPC Group has announced its intention to acquire French closures manufacturer, Global Closure Systems (GCS Group), for 650 million Euros (approx. £468m).

This is the latest in a long line of acquisitions for packaging manufacturer, RPC, as the company strengthens its business capabilities in European rigid plastic packaging.

GCS is headquartered just outside Paris, where it manufactures a number of plastic closure systems for products sold in over 100 countries worldwide across a number of markets including food, household and pharmaceuticals.

“The proposed acquisition of GCS Group provides a compelling opportunity for RPC to expand its product offering with an extensive range of highly complementary closure and dispensing solutions and technologies,” commented Pim Vervaat, Chief Executive of RPC.

RPC says GCS Group's extensive footprint in Europe alongside a strategic foothold in Asia, the US and Latin America is highly complementary to RPC's, creating possibilities for higher combined growth and reductions in the combined cost base.

“The combination will further strengthen RPC's European platform in rigid plastic packaging, with our enhanced scale creating significant opportunities for procurement and efficiency synergies whilst providing additional platforms for growth outside Europe,” Vervaat added.

As a result of its size, the Acquisition is conditional upon, among other things, the approval of Shareholders of RPC at a General Meeting to be held on 4 January 2016, amongst other consultation processes and approvals.