Clayton, Dubilier & Rice today announced an agreement under which CD&R-managed funds will acquire Mauser Group, one of the world’s leading industrial packaging companies. The transaction is valued at approximately €1.2 billion. Additional terms were not disclosed.
With 2013 revenues of €1.2 billion, Mauser manufactures and supplies plastic and steel drums and intermediate bulk containers (“IBCs”) for the chemical, industrial and food and beverage industries, among others. The company is also the leading provider of reconditioning services for used plastic drums and IBCs of all products. Mauser’s 4,400 employees operate 57 production facilities across 18 countries in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia.
“Mauser is a competitively well-positioned, resilient business with strong exposure to the higher growth sub-segments of the rigid industrial packaging market in North America and Europe,” said CD&R Partner David Novak. “We believe the company will continue to benefit from the combination of attractive, end-market growth and new operating improvement initiatives.”
CD&R Operating Partner Vindi Banga, former member of the Unilever Executive Board, will assume the role of Chairman of the Mauser Supervisory Board at the close of the transaction, expected in the third quarter of 2014.
“The company is a leader in several attractive growth segments with a broad global footprint and strong local market positions,” said Mr. Banga. “We are very enthused with Mauser’s future prospects to grow profitably and further capitalize on its rich product line of industrial packaging solutions and expanding service offerings.”
CD&R Partner Sonja Terraneo added: “We have been impressed with the strong Mauser management team who demonstrated the ability to grow topline and profits on a global basis. We look forward to working with them to build long-term value in the years ahead.”
“CD&R is well-known as a business builder and has demonstrated a deep understanding of our industry and our value proposition in sustainable packaging solutions,” said Peter Schaefer, Mauser Chief Executive Officer. “We welcome the benefit of CD&R’s management and operating experience as we redouble our efforts to provide our global customer base with the highest levels of product quality, innovation and sustainability.”
Credit Suisse AG, Barclays, BNP Paribas, ING Capital LLC, Natixis and Nomura Securities International, Inc. have committed to providing debt financing for the transaction. Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and Clifford Chance acted as legal advisors and Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Limited acted as financial advisor to CD&R.