CCL Industries to acquire Innovia Group

The Smithfield Group, the managing shareholder of Innovia, has agreed an offer from CCL Industries of 1.13 billion CAD (842 million USD).

The transaction follows a highly successful period for Innovia during which it has substantially enhanced the capabilities and performance of both its film and banknote businesses. Increasing its strategic focus on high value add and differentiated films with world leading technology, it divested its legacy cellophane business earlier this year, as reported here, while making significant growth investments over the last three years, including a state-of-the-art facility to produce polymer banknote substrate in Cumbria. 

CCL employs more than 20,000 people and operates from 156 production facilities across 35 countries on six continents. CCL has a complementary presence in the markets in which Innovia operates, with capabilities in security printing, polymer extrusion and surface engineering that are deployed across all business segments. The acquisition will provide a platform for CCL to grow and further enhance its offer in these markets.

Geoffrey T. Martin, CCL president and CEO, stated: ‘This transaction is another transformative acquisition for CCL, propelling the company to world leadership in the disruptive, fast growing polymer banknote market while strengthening our depth in the materials science arena with proprietary BOPP films technology for the label, packaging and security sectors.’

Nicholas Mockett, head of packaging M&A at Moorgate Capital, identified Innovia as a 'distinctive player in the labels and flexibles sectors'.

'With its unsual use of bubble technology to produce BOPP, Innovia makes differentiated and superior products, as well as processing film for further added value including film for polymer bank notes, which are supplied to the Bank of England.'

Mark Robertshaw, chief executive of Innovia Group, said: ‘CCL will be an excellent long term owner for the employees and customers of Innovia. CCL recognizes and values Innovia’s world leading technology, R&D and differentiation in films and security, and sees a high degree of complementarity with CCL’s own capabilities and markets to establish new growth opportunities for its business.’

‘We expect to find significant operational, customer and product innovation growth opportunities between Innovia and our end-use facing businesses at CCL Label, CCL Design, Checkpoint and Avery,’ concluded Martin.

The transaction is subject to regulatory and other change of control approvals and customary completion procedures with closing expected by the end of the first quarter, 2017.