The world's third-largest maker of flexible packaging is getting a new owner.
Constantia Flexibles, with 30 locations in 16 countries, is being acquired by One Rock Capital Partners LLC of New York from Wendel Group of Paris in a deal between investment firms.
Vienna-based Constantia's operations are centered in Europe, but the company does have plants elsewhere, including India, Vietnam, South Africa and the United States and two facilities in Russia — one in Timashevsk in southern Russia near Ukraine and one in Voskresensk, near Moscow.
"Constantia has grown through acquisition and innovation to be a leader serving its food and pharma customers," said Telmo Valido, a partner at One Rock, in a statement.
It was just in late July that Constantia revealed the company had received offers to buy the company.
"The company's strong performance over the last years has garnered significant interest," the company said. "On July 25, 2023, Wendel, one of Europe's leading listed investment firms, received several binding offers to acquire Constantia Flexibles."
"In recent years under Wendel's ownership, Constantia Flexibles transformed its business performance, developed an innovative pipeline of more sustainable products and completed multiple acquisitions," CEO Pim Vervaat said in a statement. "With diverse geographic and end market presence, the company is well-positioned to continue expanding its suite of packaging solutions amidst regulatory developments and a changing climate."
Vervaat is no stranger to corporate change as he is the former CEO of RPC Group plc, a major packaging company that was acquired by Berry Global Group Inc. in 2019 for $6.5 billion. That move gave Berry a major foothold in Europe for the first time. Vervaat became CEO of Constantia about a year after that deal went through, in 2020.
Constantia, in early June, added to its business through the purchase of Drukpol Flexo, a packaging company based in Poland. "The addition of Drukpol Flexo's expertise and advanced technologies further strengthens our position as a global leader in flexible packaging," Vervaat said at the time in a statement.
One Rock signaled plans for continued growth at Constantia. "We believe our strategic and operational resources will complement management's efforts to pursue Constantia's growth initiatives while maintaining the standards of quality and service valued by its customers," One Rock Partner Kurt Beyer said in a statement.
The deal is expected to close during the second half of this year. Wendel acquired Constantia in 2015.