BWay buys Ropak from Linpac for £165m

BWay has acquired Ropak Packaging, a division of Linpac, in a deal valued at about £165m.

Ropak, based in Fountain Valley, California, injection moulds rigid shipping containers for industrial and consumer applications. The firm has seven plants in North America, including a plastics recycling operation at its Springhill, Nova Scotia, facility.

BWay, based in Atlanta, also makes rigid packaging. Its product offerings include pails, drums and tight-head containers made from plastic, metal and hybrid materials.

The acquisition gives BWay an opportunity to broaden its product portfolio and expand its reach; it’s a “natural and exciting combination”, said Kenneth Roessler, BWay’s president and CEO.

BWay itself has a new owner. Private equity firm Platinum Equity of Los Angeles finalised its purchase of the company last month, in a deal worth approximately £770m. BWay immediately launched operational and M&A initiatives to strengthen and grow the company, according to a statement.

This is the latest in a series of divestures for the Birmingham-based Linpac, following the company’s debt restructuring in 2009.

In March, One Equity Partners of New York purchased Linpac Allibert, the company’s returnable transit packaging arm. In 2011, the company sold five non-core business units to funds managed by Chamonix Private Equity.

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