Plastic packaging specialist Linpac Group (Birmingham / UK; www.linpac.com) has sold its Australia-based Viscount Plastics (Hawthorn East, Victoria / Australia; www.viscount.com.au) division to Pact Group (South Yarra, Victoria / Australia; www.pactgroup.com.au), effective 31 July. The purchase price has not been disclosed. Viscount Plastics was acquired by Linpac in 2001 and has since been generating about 13% of the group’s revenues. It has eight production facilities in Australia, two in New Zealand, three in China and two in Malaysia. They produce rigid plastic containers, food packaging, plastic materials handling products and lubricant packaging. Linpac said it was evaluating strategic options for the business over a year ago – see Plasteurope.com of 06.05.2011. The acquisition has been approved by all necessary regulatory authorities.

Privately-owned Pact Group has an annual turnover of some AUD 1.2 bn (EUR 1.02 bn) and more than 3,000 employees. It designs and manufactures bottles, PET containers, trays, tubes, closure systems and other customised packaging systems for branded consumer products, as well as drums, pails, cans and intermediate bulk containers (IBCs). These are produced using a broad range of capabilities utilising exclusive technology alliances and licensing arrangements with leading global packaging companies.

Lenders took control of Linpac group in 2009 in a debt-for-equity swap that saw Montagu Private Equity (London / UK; www.montagu.com) lose its stake in the firm. Last year it sold its Linpac Allibert returnable transit packaging (RTP) business, based in Nanterre / France, to investment group One Equity Partners (New York, New York / USA; www.oneequity.com) – see Plasteurope.com of 12.09.2011. Following the sale of Viscount, Linpac will continue to generate annual revenues in the region of GBP 700m (EUR 880m), with a staff of 3,700 in Europe, China and North America. A spokesman said there are no plans for further divestments at the present time.

Reports in the Australian press say four private equity companies are interested in acquiring all or part of the Pact Group. Pact is controlled by Raphael Geminder, whose wife is the daughter of Richard Pratt, former chairman of Visy Industries (Melbourne / Australia; www.visy.com.au). Before his death in 2009, Pratt, consistently appeared on lists of Australia’s richest men. Visy is one of Australia’s largest packaging manufacturers, which, in March 2012, expanded through the acquisition of the Australian and New Zealand PET blow moulding companies in the HP Industries Group (www.hpindustries.com.au).