Canadian Company to Expand in Europe



A Canadian company has agreed to buy an Italian maker of flexible pouches.

Toronto-based CCL Industries Inc, which provides specialty label, security, and packaging solutions, reported that it has signed a binding agreement to acquire Pouch Partners s.r.l., Italy, from Pouch Partners AG, a company owned by Capri-Sun Group headquartered in Switzerland.

Pouch Partners supplies highly specialized, gravure-printed and laminated flexible film materials for pouch forming, including recyclable solutions. In 2022, it had sales of $104 million and adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of $6.8 million, according to CCL in a news release.

The debt-free, all-cash purchase consideration is $44 million, subject to customary adjustments at closing, which is scheduled for the third quarter of this year.

The new business will then trade as CCL Specialty Pouches and join CCL Label’s food and beverage unit in Europe.

“Pouches are a packaging format we’ve looked at for a long time as an adjacency to our label and sleeve decorating technologies with a similar modus operandi,” said Guenther Birkner, president of CCL Label Food & Beverage, in a news release. “Our common customers see them as an interesting alternative to rigid containers with labels. Pouch Partners has highly focused, deep know-how for these materials, a solid foundation to enter this market.”

Geoffrey T. Martin, president and CEO of CCL Industries Inc., says there are opportunities to sell the technology in the home and personal care space.

“If our investment is successful in Europe, there could be interest to develop the product line globally alongside our decorative label portfolio,” Martin added in a statement.

CCL Industries Inc. employs approximately 25,300 people operating 205 production facilities in 43 countries with corporate offices in Toronto, Canada, and Framingham, Massachusetts.