U.S. flexible liquid packaging specialist Liqui-Box has agreed to shed its part of its bag-in-box business to move forward with its 530 million euro ($582.1 million) acquisition of DS Smith plc's flexible packaging business.
The United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) required the sale of the bag-in-box business with U.K.-based customers before Liqui-Box could complete the purchase.
The Richmond, Va.-based company will sell certain bag-in-box production equipment currently located in Wythenshawe, England, to Peak Packaging in a deal announced Oct. 7.
In July, the CMA said that the merger with DS Smith could lead to higher prices for food and drink suppliers, as they would have less choice for packaging.
The authority formally concluded the investigations into the acquisition at the end of September, stating that the transition was approved if certain undertakings were provided by Liqui-Box.
Liqui-Box said its customers outside of the U.K. would continue to be served by Liqui-Box from the Wythenshawe plant as well as from plants in other locations.
Owned by private equity firm Olympus Partners, Liqui-Box supplies bag-in-box (BiB) packaging and filling machines, films and connections, along with bag-making machines to the market.
Its European production facilities are located in the U.K., where it has a sales team, and in Spain. In the U.K., it supplies beverages, dairy, food and wine industries.
Similarly, London-based DS Smith develops, manufactures and distributes BiB packaging under the Rapak brand to the beverage, dairy, food, wine and chemical industries in the U.K.
"We're happy to have clearance now in the U.K. and move one step closer to completing the acquisition of the DS Smith Plastics division," Liqui-Box CEO Ken Swanson said.
"Our team is prepared for a seamless handoff to Peak Packaging for customers in the U.K. and anticipate no service disruption for those outside of the U.K.," he added
Peak Packaging is one of the leading manufacturers of 1,000-liter liquid liners for the storage and transportation of liquid products within the dairy, food, toiletries/cosmetics, chemical and bio-services industries.
The company has manufacturing sites in the U.K. and Poland and has invested heavily in their factories and equipment over the last five years and continues to grow within its field.