Alcan has said that it has completed the acquisition of VAW Flexible Packaging from Norsk Hydro for approximately €345 million, following approval of the deal from the EU Commission.
The company said that the acquisition will significantly enhance its global leadership position in packaging by adding one of the world's leading producers of high-quality flexible packaging to its portfolio.
"The flexibles market is an attractive, rapidly growing area of the packaging industry, where Alcan has considerable expertise. With this acquisition, we will be able to offer our customers new technologies which will broaden and improve our flexible product offering. It will also give us a wider geographical coverage, particularly in Asia. It's a great step forward in our growth strategy for Alcan Packaging," said Travis Engen, president and chief executive officer of Alcan.
In addition to growth opportunities, the company said that the acquisition offers value-creating synergies particularly in best practice transfers in technology and procurement.
VAW Flexible Packaging's market position and portfolio fit well with existing Alcan businesses. A new transition team is in place which, coupled with rapid progress on planning, will enable smooth and timely integration. With 14 high quality flexible packaging plants in eight countries, products are produced for a wide variety of end-use customers mainly in the food, dairy and pharmaceutical industries. As a result of the acquisition, Alcan's global packaging operations now include 90 plants, with revenues of US $3.5 billion (€3.1bn) in 2002.
Alcan is a multinational, market-driven company and a global leader in aluminum, packaging, and recycling with 2002 revenues of US$12.5 billion. With world-class operations in primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum as well as flexible and specialty packaging, Alcan is well positioned to meet and exceed its customers' needs for innovative solutions and service. Alcan employs 53,000 people and has operating facilities in 41 countries.