Cenveo to sell packaging business to WestRock

The sale involves six facilities located in the US, Canada and the Dominican Republic, along with strategic sourcing partnerships in Asia and the Caribbean, which provide folding carton, shrink sleeve and lithographic laminated display packaging. In addition, WestRock and Cenveo have entered into a commercial arrangement, which Robert G. Burton, Sr, Cenveo chairman and CEO, said provides the company with, ‘access to one of the leading global packaging companies in the US.

‘The agreement brings conclusion to the review process of our packaging business, which we started in the summer of 2015,’ continued Burton. ‘The sale allows the company to focus management’s efforts on its core operations, specifically our envelopes, labels and commercial print segments, where we hold leading market positions.'

Cenveo supplies printed labels to North American pharmaceutical, food, beverage and consumer products companies through its Lightning Labels, Discount and Lancer brands. Its Rx Technology and Nashua units are used for prescription drug labels by pharmacies nationwide, while Nashua also produces retail and grocery store shelf labels as well as pressure-sensitive labels.

Cenveo Packaging serves customers across North America with a focus on markets that value high-color printing and packaging capabilities, WestRock said in its announcement of the deal. This includes food, beverage, pharma/nutraceutical, specialty tobacco and other consumer markets. WestRock is a provider of paper and packaging products to consumer and corrugated markets globally. It was formed earlier this year through the merger of RockTenn and MeadWestvaco.

WestRock CEO Steve Voorhees said: ‘With attractive and complementary customers, markets and facilities, Cenveo Packaging will be an excellent addition to our consumer packaging business. By combining our operating expertise in folding cartons and integrating WestRock paperboard with Cenveo Packaging’s packaging and printing capabilities, we will be able to better serve our customers while generating significant synergies and performance improvements.’

‘We are excited to be able to offer customers a wider network of facilities and a more diverse set of capabilities, including MiraFoil, cold foil and low migration ink systems, each of which will help our customers to be even more successful in their markets,’ added Craig Gunckel, executive vice president of merchandising displays and folding carton within WestRock’s Packaging Solutions business.

WestRock will pay a total consideration of approximately 105 million USD, with the transaction anticipated to close in early 2016 following regulatory approval.