LONDON — Continental PET Technologies Inc., North America's third-largest blow molding company, may be sold as part of a restructuring by its parent, BTR plc.
London-based BTR last week announced plans to sell all nonengineering operations, including packaging, materials, building products and polymers divisions, and focus on automotive and core engineering operations. BTR plans to divest the divisions by the end of 1998. The announcement coincides with BTR's first-half pretax profit of £608 million ($964.6 million) down from £626 million ($1.06 billion) the year before.
The nonengineering businesses have combined sales of £2.8 billion ($4.4 billion) accounting for 36 percent of the group's total sales, and employ 31,000.
BTR will use proceeds from the sale to make acquisitions, increase spending in the engineering divisions and buy back shares.
Continental PET, based in Florence, Ky., had estimated sales of $588.5 million last year. It operates seven plants in North America and injection stretch blow molds PET for the juice, soda, food and sporting goods markets.
It claims to be the world's largest custom PET bottle manufacturer with operations in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Europe, Brazil and China. It is a subsidiary of BTR Nylex Ltd. in Melbourne, Australia.
BTR and Continental PET officials were not available for comment.