Amcor awaits ACCC approval for Aperio acquisition

Amcor said it has reached an agreement to acquire Aperio Group for AUS$238 million (US$253 million), although the deal is subject to regulatory conditions, including approval from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC).
 
Amcor said the acquisition, which was initially proposed during the last quarter of 2011, will ‘deliver significant benefits to customers in Australia, New Zealand and Thailand in terms of scale, efficiency, innovation and security of supply’.
 
ACCC’s report into the Amcor acquisition of Aperio has been delayed several times, and the commission has recently called for more input from the market on, 'certain competition issues which have arisen from the ACCC's review to date’. A new deadline of March 8 was set for submissions, with ACCC's final decision deferred until March 29.
 
Aperio is described by Amcor in the announcement of the agreement as, ‘one of Asia-Pacific’s leading producers of flexible packaging products’. It has 13 manufacturing facilities across Australia and New Zealand, plus a modern facility in Thailand, Amcor said.
 
An Amcor spokesperson said: ‘The acquisition of Aperio Group brings together the two leaders in flexible packaging in Australasia and is an important strategic addition to Amcor’s existing flexible packaging business in Asia-Pacific.
 
‘It creates the opportunity to develop a stronger platform that has the required scale and breadth of technologies to meet ongoing customer needs.
 
‘The business will have a unique offering, being the market leader in Australia and New Zeeland, and the ability to supply from an extensive footprint in Asia.’