17 July 2014
Lonsdale has announced its acquisition of the flexible plastic packaging businesses of Suominen Corporation. Suominen Flexibles supplies printed plastic film and certain converted products for consumer and industrial applications from three factories in Finland and Poland. It also has sales offices in Sweden and Russia. In 2013, Suominen Flexibles had net sales of c €60 million.
Lonsdale is acquiring the business for €20 million plus a small earnout. The management team and Suominen Corporation will own significant minority stakes in the business going forward. Debt facilities were provided by Nordea Bank Finland and a vendor loan by Suominen Corporation. The company operates in a sector well-known to Lonsdale, particularly Alan Dargan who has been a principal and advisor for over 25 years in the packaging and paper industry.
Alan commented “The existing management team and staff at Suominen Flexibles, led by Reima Kerttula, have grown profits significantly in 2014. Our objective is to build on and grow Suominen Flexibles in the Nordic countries and in central and eastern Europe. We are confident that Suominen Flexibles, led by incoming CEO Borge Kvamme and Deputy CEO Reima Kerttula, with our focus and resources will have a bright future”.
Borge Kvamme who until recently was CEO of Kobusch, a European flexible packaging business headquartered in Germany, added “We have acquired a group with experienced and ambitious management and staff. The deep knowledge that Suominen Flexibles has of the plastic packaging sector, its core asset, will be strengthened by enhanced customer focus, increased efficiency and a boost in innovation”.
Reima Kerttula said that “Lonsdale is the perfect future partner for Suominen Flexibles, providing the focus and resources that Suominen Flexibles deserves in order to fulfill our ambitions in our attractive markets, further develop our operations and serve our customers even better. This is the beginning of a new time in Suominen Flexibles.”
