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LEADING EUROPEAN PACKAGING BUSINESS TO BECOME INDEPENDENT COMPANY
CROWN HOLDINGS, INC. TO RETAIN 20% OWNERSHIP INTEREST
NEW COMPANY TO FOCUS ON GROWTH IN FOOD AND CONSUMER PRODUCTS MARKETS
NEW YORK, April 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — KPS Capital Partners, LP (“KPS”) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Europe, Middle East and Africa food, aerosol and promotional packaging business (the “EMEA Food and Consumer Packaging Business” or the “Company”) from Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCK, “Crown”) for €2.25 billion (approximately $2.7 billion). Crown will retain 20% ownership of the Company. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021 and is subject to customary closing conditions and approvals.
The EMEA Food and Consumer Packaging Business is the largest manufacturer of steel and aluminum food packaging in Europe and is a leading manufacturer of aerosol and promotional packaging. The Company is critical to the European food supply chain and has hundreds of global and regional food and consumer products customers. The Company’s products are highly sustainable and help to prevent food waste and drive higher rates of recycling. The EMEA Food and Consumer Packaging Business has approximately 6,300 employees across 44 manufacturing facilities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and generates annual revenue of approximately €2.0 billion.
Michael Psaros, Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner of KPS, said, “We are excited to acquire one of the largest metal packaging businesses in Europe. The size and scale of the business, the breadth of its products and its critical food safety technology and process disciplines developed over decades, coupled with growing end-markets, are the foundation of a tremendous investment platform. We thank Mr. Donahue and Crown for their confidence in KPS and trust in our stewardship of the extraordinary business they have built. We look forward to working constructively with all of the business’s stakeholders to build a vibrant and thriving new company. KPS will leverage its decades of global manufacturing experience to create an entrepreneurial culture centered on innovation and continuous improvement, while providing the financial resources to invest in commercial and operational excellence and industry leading customer service.”
Timothy Donahue, Chief Executive Officer of Crown, said, “We are very pleased that the European Tinplate business will have a strong owner in KPS Capital Partners to support future profitable growth and innovation initiatives. European customers and consumers alike have long embraced metal packaging, valuing the premium product protection and flavor preservation that it offers. We are excited to retain a minority stake in the business alongside KPS as Crown shareholders will benefit from the KPS team and its track record of owning manufacturing companies and creating tremendous value.”
Rothschild & Co is acting as lead financial advisor and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is serving as legal counsel to KPS and its affiliates. Barclays and UBS are also acting as financial advisors to KPS and its affiliates. Debt financing to support the transaction is being led by Barclays and Deutsche Bank along with BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse and UBS Investment Bank.
About the EMEA Food and Consumer Packaging Business
The EMEA Food and Consumer Packaging Business is the largest manufacturer of steel and aluminum food packaging in Europe and is a leading manufacturer of aerosol and promotional packaging. The Company is critical to the European food supply chain, with hundreds of global and regional food and consumer products customers. The Company’s products are highly sustainable, helping to prevent food waste and drive high rates of recycling. With approximately 6,300 employees across 44 manufacturing facilities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the EMEA Food and Consumer Packaging Business generates annual revenue of approximately €2.0 billion.
About Crown Holdings, Inc.
Crown Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is a leading global supplier of rigid packaging products to consumer marketing companies, as well as transit and protective packaging products, equipment and services to a broad range of end markets. World headquarters are located in Yardley, Pennsylvania. For more information, visit www.crowncork.com.
About KPS Capital Partners
KPS, through its affiliated management entities, is the manager of the KPS Special Situations Funds, a family of investment funds with over $12.3 billion of assets under management (as of December 31, 2020). For nearly three decades, the Partners of KPS have worked exclusively to realize significant capital appreciation by making controlling equity investments in manufacturing and industrial companies across a diverse array of industries, including basic materials, branded consumer, healthcare and luxury products, automotive parts, capital equipment and general manufacturing. KPS creates value for its investors by working constructively with talented management teams to make businesses better, and generates investment returns by structurally improving the strategic position, competitiveness and profitability of its portfolio companies, rather than primarily relying on financial leverage. The KPS Funds’ portfolio companies have aggregate annual revenues of approximately $10.6 billion, operate 159 manufacturing facilities in 22 countries, and have approximately 34,000 employees, directly and through joint ventures worldwide. The KPS investment strategy and portfolio companies are described in detail at www.kpsfund.com.