Constantia Flexibles announces joint venture in India

Constantia Flexibles, producer of flexible packaging, has signed a joint venture (JV) agreement for its Indian business and operations with Premji Invest and SB Packagings. The combination will help Constantia Flexibles achieve its ambition to grow further and create value in the Indian market. 

‘I am very pleased to partner with SB Packagings and Premji Invest,’ said Pim Vervaat, CEO of Constantia Flexibles. ‘I have the greatest respect for SB Packagings’ achievements and look forward to the joint venture, supported by Premji Invest, to grow the combined business profitably.’  

The JV is pursuing organic as well as inorganic growth in higher added value market segments in India, continuing its strong growth trajectory in the hygiene segment whilst further developing the more sustainable mono-material EcoLam product range. With the new partners, Constantia Flexibles is able to strengthen its business in the region and various market segments. As SB Packagings is a leading player in the hygiene segment, the new partnership will help extend Constantia Flexibles’ portfolio. 

The closing of the joint venture agreement is expected to be completed by the end of March 2023, pending regulatory approvals. KPMG India acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Constantia Flexibles for the transaction.   

Constantia Flexibles is the world’s third largest producer of flexible packaging. With 8,750 employees, it manufactures tailor-made packaging at 38 sites in 16 countries. Its customers include international companies and local market leaders from the consumer and pharma industries. Sustainability is a top priority at Constantia Flexibles: the company was rated Level A by Climate Change Leadership (CDP) in 2021 and Gold by EcoVadis in 2022.  

SB Packagings (SBP), founded in 1989 by O.P Banga and Amit Banga, is one of the leading flexible packaging companies based out of India. SBP group over the past four decades, has been manufacturing mono-polymer sustainable packaging. It has won various awards and global accolades for its innovation and printing excellence. In 2022, it was chosen as the ‘Packaging Company of the Year’ by PrintWeek and won the ‘WorldStar’ award in Milan for sustainable packaging and also the ‘Gold’ at the Asian Packaging Excellence Awards. SBP with over 50 percent market share, is by far the largest company manufacturing hygiene packaging for leading global and Indian brands. SBP also has a strong footprint in the food and beverages space.  

Premji Invest is the investment arm of Azim Premji's endowment and philanthropic initiatives. It has been active in investing in the Indian markets for over ten years with a large investment corpus. The focus of investments has been to grow medium-sized Indian companies into large companies that can compete globally. Investments of Premji Invest are across sectors such as consumer, financials, technology, and manufacturing and to name a few include, Fab India, Hygienic Research, ID foods, Lenskart, Policy Bazaar, Flipkart, SBI General Life Insurance, Gold Plus Glass, Best Value Chemicals, Sagar Cements, Micro Plastics and Shubham Housing.