Industry Updates - Silgan to buy Graham Packaging to form mega plastics packaging company

Silgan Holdings Inc announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Graham Packaging Company Inc, one of the world's three largest blowmolders of plastics packaging. The combined company will have annual sales exceeding US$6.2 billion, with more than 17,000 employees at 180 manufacturing facilities in 19 countries, making Silgan a world leader in food and specialty beverage packaging.

In its press release on the deal, Silgan said it expects to realize operational cost synergies of US$50 million by the third year following the combination, which will be achieved primarily through reductions in administrative expenses, procurement savings and a more efficient manufacturing cost structure. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2011, subject to the approval of the transaction by Silgan's shareholders and Graham's shareholders, receipt of applicable regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Blackstone Capital Partners III LP and certain of its affiliates and the Graham Family, who collectively own, on a fully diluted basis, 65% of Graham's common shares, have agreed to vote in favor of the transaction.

Silgan controls about 50% of the North American metal food container market, and also makes composite, glass and plastics packaging. It operates 83 facilities in the Americas, Europe and Asia, and realized sales of US$588.6 million of those in 2010. Graham Packaging operates almost 100 facilities in the same regions, processing polypropylene, polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate.