Bemis: Kohlberg completes acquisition of Bemis Healthcare Packaging Europe

Private equity firm Kohlberg & Co. LLC (Mount Kisco, NY) announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Bemis Healthcare Packaging Europe from Amcor's Flexible Packaging business unit. It will be merged with Nelipak Corp. (Cranston, RI), a global supplier of custom packaging for the medical device and pharmaceutical industries that Kohlberg & Co. acquired in July 2019. Bemis Healthcare Packaging operates facilities in Clara, Ireland; Derry, Northern Ireland, UK; and Elsham, UK.Kohlberg reportedly paid $394 million for the three plants, which collectively generate annual sales of approximately $170 million supplying flexible packaging to healthcare OEMs.In order to acquire Bemis Co. Inc. in a $6.8 billion deal earlier this year, Amcor agreed to divest itself of these medical flexible packaging assets. On May 30, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice wrote that, without the divestiture, "the proposed acquisition would eliminate competition between two of only three significant suppliers of three medical packaging products that are critical to the safe transportation and use of medical devices." The Bemis acquisition was completed in June 2019.Nelipak is a leading global manufacturer of custom rigid healthcare packaging used for Class II and Class III medical devices, and drug-delivery products. With facilities in the United States, Europe and Costa Rica, the company operates strategically located cleanroom facilities and offers in-house design, development, prototyping and manufacturing of medical trays and blisters, custom built sealing machines and other value-added services."We are excited about the addition of the Bemis European Healthcare Packaging business," said Mike Kelly, President and CEO of Nelipak, in a prepared statement. "We will leverage the unique capabilities of both organizations to delight our customers with innovative designs, world-class quality and excellent service. This will significantly enhance Nelipak's capabilities with the addition of flexible packaging alternatives for our global customers.""The Bemis [Healthcare Packaging Europe] acquisition provides a unique opportunity to create global scale and diversification across complementary product offerings," commented Seth H. Hollander, Partner of Kohlberg.Roger Prevot, Operating Partner of Kohlberg, added, "This combination provides attractive opportunities for revenue growth from cross-selling and geographic expansion. Mike [Kelly] and his team will be better equipped to serve the company's customers as a comprehensive partner for their packaging needs."