International growth strategy successfully implemented
Frankfurt / London, 3 May 2007 – European private equity firm Cinven today announces that it and its minority partner, JPMorgan Partners, LLC (CCMP Capital Advisors, LLC manages their investment), have signed an agreement to sell Klöckner Pentaplast (“kp”), the world’s leading manufacturer of rigid plastic films, to an affiliate of The Blackstone Group for €1.3 billion (US$1.8 billion), an 8x multiple of pro-forma EBITDA.
Cinven and JPMorgan Partners, LLC acquired kp in 2001. Working with the management team, they have together made significant investments in improving the quality of kp’s business through expansion into new territories and broadening the product base. As a result, its revenues have grown from €833 million (US$1.1 billion) in FY2001 to €1.2 billion ($1.6 billion) in FY2006 and the number of employees from 3,100 in 2001 to more than 3,700 today.
Cinven partner Peter Gangsted said:
“Our growth strategy for kp has delivered real value. We have expanded kp´s business into new markets through organic growth and by seven strategic acquisitions, particularly in Asia and South America. With our knowledge of the packaging industry we were well positioned to advance the regional expansion as well as the extension of kp´s product range. The company has now established a much stronger competitive position as the world’s leading producer of rigid plastic films which is opening up further growth opportunities. kp has been a successful investment for us in spite of difficult conditions caused by the oil price increase since 2002 and we wish the company, its management and staff continued growth in the future.”
Thomas J. Goeke, Chief Executive Officer of kp added:
“Klöckner Pentaplast has achieved much over the past six years in partnership with Cinven whose experience of the packaging sector has brought real value to the business. We look forward to working with our new owners in taking the business forward.”
Commenting on the acquisition, Lionel Assant, Managing Director of the Blackstone Group said:
"We see in Klöckner Pentaplast a high quality business with a leading position in the plastic rigid film market. We look forward to supporting the strong management team during the next step of the company’s evolution."
Klöckner Pentaplast is the world’s leading producer of rigid plastic films. Founded in 1965 in Montabaur (Germany), the company operates globally from 21 manufacturing sites in 11 countries on four continents, using a range of polymers and production processes. Due to its strong diversity and wide geographic reach, Klöckner Pentaplast can be considered as one of the few global “one-stop-shop” film producers.
The sellers were advised by Morgan Stanley in this transaction.