Essentra plans placing after deal to buy medical packaging rival

12th Nov 2014 08:44

Plastic and packaging components group Essentra has proposed a £160m fundraising after agreeing to acquire a Dutch healthcare packaging business for $455m (£285m).Essentra has signed an agreement to buy the specialist packaging division of Amsterdam-based Clondalkin Group, which is owned by US private equity giant Warburg Pincus.Clondalkin Specialist Packaging is focused on the pharmaceutical and health & personal care industries.Essentra proposes to raise £160m by issuing 23.7m new shares, representing an increase of almost 10% of its existing share capital, at a yet-to-be-decided price."As a leading player in North America and with strong market positions in Europe, Clondalkin SPD's range of technologies and capabilities support the high product quality and the versatility to deliver the complex solutions required," the FTSE 250 company said in a statement.Clondalkin SPD has 24 facilities in North America and Europe, and has a product portfolio of folding carton, product literature and labels will broaden the group's range.Following the acquisition and proposed placing, Essentra's pro forma ratio of net debt to earnings before interest, tax and depreciation would continue its acquisitive path.