28 Aug 2018 07:00
28th August 2018
RPC Group Plc
Portfolio management and acquisition
RPC Group Plc ("RPC" or the "Group"), a leading global plastic products design and engineering company, announces an update in relation to the divestment of its non-core businesses and the recently completed acquisition of PLASgran, a leading UK rigid plastic recycling company.
Sale of Letica Foodservice
RPC has reached binding agreement with Graphic Packaging International LLC for the sale of the Foodservice business of Letica Corporation (the "Foodservice Business") for a pre-tax cash free, debt free consideration of $95 million. The completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval in the United States.
As a result of the sale of the Foodservice Business, RPC has reached agreement to settle the earn-out associated with the Group's acquisition of Letica Corporation ("Letica") in March 2017. An amount of $7.5 million will be payable to the former shareholders of Letica upon the completion of the sale of the Foodservice Business. No further amounts will be charged to adjusting items in respect of the earn-out. The cash payment of $7.5m compares with the circa 20% (circa $29 million) earn-out settlement indicated in the previous technical guidance.
Disposal of other non-core businesses
Preparations for the sale of the spirits closures business at Bridge of Allan, Scotland, are complete and the business is being marketed to interested parties. Further updates on this process will be provided in due course. The preparations for the sale of the European injection moulding automotive business (comprising of operations at Zevenaar, The Netherlands, and at Rongu, Estonia) have started. It should be noted that there is a continuation of the significant under-performance at the operation in Zevenaar as a result of cost inefficiencies arising from last year's new product launch.
Acquisition of PLASgran
On 13th August RPC acquired PLASgran Limited, for a cash free, debt free consideration of £34.5 million. Operating from facilities in Cambridgeshire, PLASgran is a leading UK recycler of rigid plastics and in the last financial year generated revenue of £27 million. The acquisition will complement and enhance the existing film recycling activities carried out by the RPC bpi Division, bringing additional annual capacity of almost 50,000 tonnes of rigid recycling alongside the Group's existing flexible capacity, delivering a total recycling capacity in excess of 100,000 tonnes per annum. The expanded RPC bpi recycling business will serve the UK and Mainland European markets, with all management of PLASgran retained.
For further information:
RPC Group Plc | +44 (0)1933 410064 | FTI Consulting | +44 (0)20 3727 1340 |
Pim Vervaat, Chief Executive | Richard Mountain | ||
Simon Kesterton, Group Finance Director | Nick Hasell | ||
Clare Banham, Investor Relations Director | |||
About RPC Group:
RPC is a leading plastic products design and engineering company for packaging and selected non-packaging markets, with over 33 innovation centres and 192 operations in 34 countries, and employs c.25,000 people. The Group develops and manufactures a diverse range of products for a wide variety of customers, including many household names, and enjoys strong market positions in many of the end-markets it serves and the geographical areas in which it operates. It uses a wide range of polymer conversion technologies in both rigid and flexible plastics manufacture, and is now one of the largest plastic converters in Europe, combining the development of innovative packaging and technical solutions for its customers with good levels of service and support.
For further information please visit: www.rpc-group.com
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