As editor of Berry Plastics Group Inc. is merging with Covalence Specialty Materials Holding Corp. (the former Tyco Plastics business), the companies announced today.
This sounds like a pretty big deal, but keep in mind that both already are majority owned by the same parent company, private equity firm Apollo Management LP. So the biggest change, apparently, will be that Ira Boots, chairman and CEO of Berry, and Brent Beeler, Berry's chief operating officer, now will have responsibility for managing Covalence, too.
"The combined company will benefit from enhanced diversity of end-markets, customers and products, and the increased scale will make Berry one of the largest plastic packaging companies in the world, while at the same time deliberating our balance sheet," Boots said in a news release.
Kip Smith, Covalence's CEO, will remain with the combined company and run the Covalence business.
Meantime, Covalence reported its first quarter financials today. The company lost $21.8 million on sales of $366.7 million for the three months ended Dec. 29. "Net revenue for the three months ended December 29, 2006 was impacted by lower volumes driven by a mild 2006 hurricane season, weak housing starts and continued efforts by customers to minimize inventories during a period of softening polyethylene resin pricing," the company said in its release.