Danish packaging maker and recycler Faerch Group is buying Germany-based rigid plastics firm Paccor in its biggest acquisition.
The deal will catapult the Holstebro, Denmark-headquartered Faerch into the top of the global food packaging market, creating a company with operations at 34 sites, employing almost 6,000 people and generating sales in excess of 9 billion Danish kroner ($1.36 billion). No details of the transaction were disclosed.
Currently, Faerch has sites in Denmark, Great Britain, France, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. Paccor brings with it production in Europe as well as the U.S. with a site in Excelsior Springs, Mo., and facilities in Singapore and Indonesia.
A leading European supplier of rigid food packaging and the world's first integrated recycler of PET food packaging — the company recycles food trays back into new food-grade products at industrial scale — Faerch is acquiring Düsseldorf-based Paccor from private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg LLC.
The acquisition is another step in Faerch's overall growth strategy and underlines the company's move to promote the industry's transition toward circular packaging solutions, particularly in the European dairy sector, the largest segment in rigid food packaging in the region.
Paccor was founded in 2011 as a successful merger of several packaging companies and is today a European leader in protective packaging for the dairy sector, offering solutions mainly for yogurt, spreads and ice cream packaging.
"After years of successful growth, we see in Faerch the perfect partner for us," Paccor CEO Andreas Schütte said.
Faerch had had its eye on Paccor for some time. With the backing of the A.P. Moller Group, which acquired Faerch in 2020, the company was in a position to make its move.
"The time was ripe," said CEO Lars Gade Hansen, who has overseen the tumultuous growth of Faerch over the past years.
"With Paccor's strong position in the dairy sector, our complementary geographical footprints and our shared ambition to make food packaging circular, Paccor is the perfect match for Faerch," said Hansen.
Faerch will now be present in all major food packaging segments, allowing the much-needed standardization away from non-recyclable legacy materials towards truly circular packaging solutions, he added. "A comprehensive investment program for supporting material conversion and scaling our recycling platform will be launched."
With 16 production sites in Europe, Asia and the U.S. and more than 3,400 employees, the acquisition is subject to the customary closing conditions and regulatory approval. The Paccor United Kingdom business, including two production sites, is not part of the deal and will be retained by Lindsay Goldberg.
Paccor it the former rigid packaging business of Coveris Group.