Page 48 - Plastics News September 2019

BUSINESS NEWS

Macfarlane Group to acquire UK- DIC to acquire BASF’s global

based Leyland Packaging pigments business

K-based protective packaging materials distributor ASF and the fine chemical company DIC have
UMacfarlane Group has agreed to acquire Leyland Breached an agreement on the acquisition of BASF’s
Packaging for a total of £3.25m ($3.89m).The deal global pigments business. The purchase price on a cash
complements Macfarlane’s strategy to establish its and debt-free basis is €1.15 billion. The transaction
business through a combination of organic and acquisitive is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020.
growth.The initial payment of £2.25m will be transferred The divestiture is subject to the approval of the
on 5 September. It includes £2m in cash and the remaining UHOHYDQW FRPSHWLWLRQ DXWKRULWLHV ´:H KDYH DFKLHYHG
£250,000 in the form of 264,382 ordinary shares in RXU JRDO WR ÀQG DQ RZQHU
Macfarlane for 25p each.Macfarlane will pay the deferred who considers pigments a
consideration of up to £1m in cash in the fourth quarter of core strategic business,”
2020. This part of the payment is based on meeting certain says Dr. Markus Kamieth,
trading targets. Leyland Packaging has 37,000ft² facilities member of the Board of
in Leyland, Lancashire, UK. The company offers protective Executive Directors of
packaging solutions to various industrial customers. BASF SE, responsible for
Macfarlane Group chief executive Peter Atkinson said: the Industrial Solutions
“Leyland is a high-quality protective packaging business segment. “DIC pursues
that meets our acquisition criteria and will be earnings- ambitious growth plans
HQKDQFLQJ LQ LWV ÀUVW IXOO \HDU LQ WKH JURXS ´, DP FRQÀGHQW and has announced to further develop the business in
that the business will be another good acquisition for WKH FRPLQJ \HDUV :H DUH FRQYLQFHG WKDW WKH SLJPHQWV
Macfarlane, improving our geographic coverage in the business will be able to unfold its full potential within
1RUWK :HVW RI (QJODQG DQG H[WHQGLQJ RXU FXVWRPHU DIC.” DIC is a Japanese company listed at the Tokyo
reach.”Following the completion of the transaction, Stock Exchange with about 20,000 employees globally.
Macfarlane will retain the 12 employees, currently working The company headquartered in Tokyo was founded in
with Leyland Packaging.Macfarlane operates 30 facilities 1908, is active in more than 60 countries and generated
sales of approximately 800 billion yen in 2018. This
corresponds to about €6.8 billion. Under the slogan
“Color & Comfort,” DIC is active in three segments:
Packaging & Graphics, Functional Products and Color &
Display. Color & Display includes a portfolio of pigments.
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the target to increase our sales to 1 trillion yen, i.e.
approximately €8 billion, by 2025. In this context,
BASF’s pigments portfolio is an important strategic
addition in meeting our goals more expeditiously. It will
allow us to expand our position as one of the leading
pigment suppliers globally and offer our customers
even more versatile solutions,” Kaoru Ino, President
across the UK, Ireland, and Sweden, and employs 925 DQG &KLHI ([HFXWLYH 2IÀFHU RI ',& FRPPHQWV RQ WKH
people across its operations. In May, Macfarlane Group agreement reached. For Dr. Alexander Haunschild,
UK acquired protective packaging distribution business Senior Vice President and Managing Director at BASF’s
Ecopac UK for £3.9m. Macfarlane Packaging is the largest pigment-focused subsidiary BASF Colors & Effects, the
distributor of protective packaging products and services agreement is a chance to continue the growth path
in the UK, serving over 20,000 businesses nationwide. started in 2016.

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