RICHMOND, VA. — James River Corp. of Richmond sold its 45 percent interest in WinCup Holdings LP to Radnor Holdings Corp. of Radnor, Pa., for about $29 million in cash.
The $29 million included the collection of $10 million in subordinated long-term notes James River received from Wincup parent Radnor, then known as Benchmark Corp., when the companies merged their expanded polystyrene foam cup businesses in January 1996 to form WinCup Holdings LP.
At the time of the merger, James River received — in exchange for its Handi-Kup foam cup business — minority interest in WinCup Holdings, the long-term notes, $26 million in cash and Radnor's injection molded plastic cutlery, extruded straw and thermoformed drinking cup businesses.
The combined cup businesses make WinCup, based in Phoenix, the second-largest U.S. producer of EPS foam cups and containers, next to Dart Container Corp. of Leola, Pa., according to Radnor. In forms it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Radnor estimated that market at about $550 million a year, and WinCup's share at about 35 percent.
``James River and WinCup were fairly equivalent in volume, but the combination of the two puts [the business] as a strong second to Dart,'' said Rich Hunsinger, Wincup vice president of sales and marketing.
He pegged Dart's share of the market at more than 50 percent. Both WinCup and Dart also thermoform cup lids.
As a result of the Handi-Kup purchase, Radnor closed a WinCup manufacturing plant in Des Plaines, Ill., and a warehouse in West Chicago, Ill., and merged those operations into a Handi-Kup plant, also in West Chicago. In all, WinCup operates 10 cup and lid plants in North America.
In December, to reduce raw material costs for the cups, Radnor acquired StyroChem International Inc., an EPS bead producer with operations in Texas and Quebec.
For the nine months ended Sept. 30, Radnor reported pro forma sales of $172.3 million. Radnor Holdings is owned by Trinity Capital, also in Radnor.