Essentra Regulatory News (ESNT)

ESSENTRA PLC

ACQUISITION OF MINORITY STAKE IN ESSENTRA (MEA) PTE. LTD IN FILTERS DIVISION

Essentra plc ("Essentra" or "the Company") today announces the acquisition of the 49% minority interest in its Filters joint venture, Essentra (MEA) Pte. Ltd, from Aberdeen International FZE (part of the BBM Bommidala group or "BBM") for a cash consideration of £11.6m ("the Transaction"). Essentra (MEA) Pte. Ltd is the holding company of Essentra FZE, which undertakes the Company's Filters activities in Dubai.

Since it was established in 2013, Essentra FZE has served the attractive markets of the Middle East with an increasingly complex range of special filters, which has resulted in strong revenue and profit growth. Accordingly, as the region continues to expand, 100% ownership of Essentra FZE will allow the Company to further invest in additional capacity and to introduce new processes and products in Dubai, and to fully benefit from future potential volume and premiumisation opportunities.

The Transaction is a smaller related party transaction under LR 11.1.10R.

Commenting on today's announcement, Paul Forman, Chief Executive, said:

"In successful partnership with BBM, Essentra FZE has grown considerably over the last six years as the demand for the special filters in the Middle East has increased. As this market trend is expected to be maintained, the acquisition of BBM's minority stake in the joint venture will allow us to expand the Dubai facility into a regional hub and to capture the full potential of this growth region for the benefit of Essentra shareholders."

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About Essentra plc

Essentra plc is a FTSE 250 company and a leading global provider of essential components and solutions. Organised into four divisions from the start of 2018 - reflecting the Company's strategic review - Essentra focuses on the light manufacture and distribution of high volume, enabling components which serve customers in a wide variety of end-markets and geographies.

Essentra Components

Essentra Components is a global market leading manufacturer and distributor of plastic injection moulded, vinyl dip moulded and metal items. Operating in 28 countries worldwide, twelve manufacturing facilities and 29 logistics centres serve more than 85,000 customers with a rapid supply of low cost but essential products for a variety of applications in industries such as equipment manufacturing, automotive, fabrication, electronics and construction.

Essentra Packaging

Essentra Packaging is one of only two multicontinental suppliers of a full secondary packaging range to the health and personal care sectors, with 22 facilities across four geographic regions. The division's innovative products include cartons, leaflets, self-adhesive labels and printed foils used in blister packs, which help customers to meet the rapidly-changing requirements of these end-markets and can also be combined with Essentra's authentication solutions to help the fight against counterfeiting.

Essentra Filters

Essentra Filters is the only global independent cigarette filter supplier. The seven worldwide locations, plus a dedicated Technology Centre supported by three regional development facilities, provide a flexible infrastructure strategically positioned to serve the tobacco sector. The business supplies a wide range of value-adding high quality innovative filters, packaging solutions to the roll your own segment and analytical laboratory services for ingredient measurement to the industry: Essentra's offering also includes e-cigarette and Heat Not Burn solutions to the rapidly evolving market for Next Generation Products.

Essentra Specialist Components

Essentra Specialist Components comprises the Company's five smaller businesses. These activities largely have strong positions in the markets in which they operate, although they have little overlap with each other or with Essentra's larger three global divisions.

The Extrusion business is a leading custom profile extruder located in The Netherlands which offers a complete design and production service. One of the first companies to extrude plastics, Essentra is now one of Europe's most advanced suppliers of co-extrusion and tri-extrusion to all branches of industry.

The Speciality Tapes business has expertise in coating multiple adhesive systems in numerous technologies, with approximately 1,200 tape products stocked for same-day shipping predominantly for retail point of purchase, appliance and industrial applications.

The Tear Tapes business is globally recognised as the leading manufacturer and supplier of pressure-sensitive tear tapes, which are largely used in the tobacco, food and drink and specialist packaging sectors.

The Industrial Supply business provides a wide range of branded hardware supplies to a broad base of industrial customers, largely located in the US Mid-West.

The Card Solutions business is a leading European provider of ID card printers, systems and accessories to direct and trade customers.

Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Essentra's global network extends to 33 countries and includes c. 8,000 employees, c. 45 principal manufacturing facilities, c. 30 sales & distribution operations and 4 research & development centres. For further information, please visit www.essentraplc.com.