Mondi (Johannesburg / South Africa; www.mondigroup.com) has signed an agreement to acquire 90% of the shares in Turkish packaging producer Kalenobel (Istanbul / Turkey; www.kalenobel.com.tr) for EUR 90m on a debt-and-cash-free basis. Sellers were Argus Capital (London / UK) and Olcay Hephiz, one of Kalenobel’s founders. The purchase is still subject to regulatory clearance and expected to be completed in the second half of this year.

Founded in 1955, Kalenobel produces flexible consumer packaging and aseptic cartons at its two plants located northwest of Istanbul. The company’s customers include international and regional food and beverage producers, and it exports about half of its output, mostly to western Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Kalenobel's 500 employees manufacture food and non-food packaging using a wide variety of technologies, including extrusion, lamination, offset printing and rotogravure printing, among others.

Commenting on the deal, Mondi CEO David Hawthorn said, “The acquisition of Kalenobel supports the growth of our Consumer Packaging business, broadening our product portfolio and geographic reach to better serve our customers in high-growth markets.”

With operations in more than 30 countries and a total global workforce of 25,000, Mondi is considered to be a leading international packaging and paper producer, and, according to a recent study by AMI Consulting (Bristol / UK; www.amiplastics.com), is also Europe’s second largest PE film producer (see Plasteurope.com of 22.04.2016).