Mayr-Melnhof Packaging to acquire specialty packaging company in France

Based in the French capital Paris, Ileos has sales offices and manufacturing sites across Europe and in China, the US and Brazil. The company has five sites producing folding cartons for the pharmaceutical industry and two sites producing folding cartons for luxury items and cosmetics. All of these sites are located in France.

The purchase price will amount to approximately 80 million EUR (91 million USD).

This latest development follows similar deals over the last two years such as the sale of Contego to Essentra, the acquisition by Carlyle of Chesapeake/MPS, the sale of Graphic Packaging’s Medica to Sullivan Street and the sale of Clondalkin Specialist Packaging to Essentra, and Nicholas Mockett, head of packaging mergers and acquisitions at Moorgate Capital, said: ‘As many in the folding carton industry will appreciate, there is a rapidly changing landscape in pharmaceutical packaging as suppliers build multi-national footprints to serve the global pharmaceutical producers.

‘This trend looks set to continue as the pharmaceutical industry itself continues to consolidate and pharma demand growth continues with the ageing populations of the western world combined with the burgeoning middle classes in emerging markets.

‘The business also serves the luxury markets such as champagne, cognac and fragrance which are similarly benefitting from the growing middle class in emerging markets and the move to premium products in established markets.’