MeadWestvaco carries Saint-Gobain Calmar
Calmar, a manufacturer of plastic dispensing and spraying systems,
looking to establish a solid footing in primary packaging.
By paying $710m ($557m) in cash, MeadWestvaco has acquired a packaging company with a big clientele and a strong presence in key markets in the US and Europe, as well as additional packaging solutions.
Calmar's customised pump and spray packaging solutions are used in a broad range of end uses, including personal care, cosmetic and fragrance, pharmaceutical, lawn and garden, home and fabric, automotive and other industrial applications.
In pharmaceuticals, MeadWestvaco already offers packaging tailored specifically for seniors and children, packaging that uses technology to record dosage time and date, packaging with anti-counterfeit technology, and other more conventional options.
"This acquisition enables us to provide a more comprehensive array of differentiated packaging solutions to customers that will yield deeper and more profitable customers relationships, as well as more overall revenue opportunities," MeadWestvaco spokeswoman Alison von Puschendorf told In-PharmaTechnolologist.com.
"It also moves us up the packaging value chain through a high-value, well-respected primary packaging provider and increases our overall packaging design and innovation capabilities."
MeadWestvaco, which specializes in secondary packaging solutions, snapped up Calmar from the Saint-Gobain Group, in a transaction expected to close in the summer of 2006, subject to the approval of the relevant anti-trust authorities.
Calmar, which has reported revenue over the past 12 months of around $420m, has approximately 2,700 employees based in 10 production sites.
"I am very pleased to confirm the core Calmar team will remain intact and committed to our strategic objectives: outstanding products, services, competitive prices, growth via product innovation," John McKernan, president and CEO of Saint-Gobain Calmar, wrote in a statement.
"The entire Calmar organization is excited about the support and outstanding potential as part of MeadWestvaco and we believe this is the ideal outcome for Calmar and our customers."
MeadWestvaco expects Calmar to have minimal impact on its earnings through 2006 and to be accretive to its earnings beginning in 2007.
