Companies look to sell food packaging operations
Appleton said that it planned to “explore options” to off-load its wholly-owned subsidiary C&H Packaging Co acquired six years ago. C&H Packaging Co, which employs 100 workers, prints and converts flexible plastic packing for a range of sectors including food processing.
Concentrate on film production
Appleton's chief executive officer Mark Richards said that Appleton intended to focus its performance packaging operations on film production - including its subsidiaries American Plastics and New England Extrusion. The company said it was currently assessing the financial implications of the C&H sale as any impact could be “material”.
The company is has around 2,400 workers and has operations in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. It declined to provide any details on the potential timing of the deal.
San Miguel packing sale to fund acquisitions
San Miguel, the largest Philippine food and drinks outfit, has unveiled plans to sell stakes in its packaging units and canned-meat makers to help fund purchases. The company is said to be currently negotiating the sale of 14 per cent of its packing operations. In 2007 Nihon Yamamura Glass paid $135m for a 35 per cent stake in the packing businesses but has said it is not involved in the current deal.
San Miguel is believed to have raised around $7bn from divestments since 2007. Company president Ramon Ang said: “We have identified what assets to keep and the best way to raise funds to invest”. The company has recently expanded into the energy and telecommunications markets as it believes these secure a far higher return on equity than its core food and drinks operations.
“Our strategy for our existing businesses is to keep 51 percent and sell 49 percent of everything and use the money for our new engines of growth,” Ang added. “We have identified a lot of spectacular new businesses.”
He said that revenue contribution from food and beverages could fall from last year’s 91 per cent to 10 percent within five years.
