John Mansfield Group plc, the British buyout company that acquired packaging firm Waddington plc in February for $484 million, has sold its food-services division, Waddington North America Inc., for $210 million to the division's management. Meanwhile, Mansfield of Marchington, England, says it has received widespread expressions of interest from potential buyers of the Waddington pharmaceutical packaging division, which has plants in England and the United States.
WNA of Carthage, Texas, is a leading U.S. maker of disposable plastic tableware serving restaurants, caterers and consumers. Its five operations include WNA Carthage Inc. in Carthage; WNA Comet East Inc. in Chelmsford, Mass.; WNA Comet West Inc. in Los Angeles; WNA Cups Illustrated Inc., of Dallas, and WNA Hopple Plastics Inc. in Florence, Ky.
WNA is being acquired by WNA Merger Corp., a takeover vehicle formed by the management with funds from two U.S. private equity firms: Code Hennessy & Simmons LLC and Greenwich Street Capital Partners Inc.
The division reported pretax profit of $22.6 million on sales of $180 million in the fiscal year ended April 30. The cash deal is scheduled to be completed by the end of June, according to Mansfield, which has changed its name to Communisis to reflect its new strategy.
Communisis plans to invest in its core specialty printing and communications businesses.
The pharmaceutical packaging division includes Waddington Jaycare LLC, which has units in Garwood and Saddle Brook, N.J.; Waddington Jaycare Ltd. of North Shields, England; and Waddington Trans Container Corp. in Los Angeles.
The division also includes Waddington Johnsen & Jorgensen Ltd. of Dartford, England, a glass and plastics packaging importing business.
Mansfield has received 25 expressions of interest from potential bidders for the health-care and pharmaceutical business, and is due to draw up a short list within weeks, according to Mansfield Chairman Stuart Wallis.
