Paperboard container manufacturer Sonoco UK has completed the £2.6m-takeover of the loss-making Robinson division, Robinson Paperboard Packaging, as it broadens market share and lowers risk for its customers.
As part of the acquisition, $700m (£435m)-turnover Sonoco, which has its headquarters in the US, will take over the operation of Robinson’s Chesterfield factory on a 15-year lease with an option to buy after two. Staff will be retained under TUPE, and the business will be rebranded Sonoco Chesterfield.
The cash deal, which is subject to adjustment pending completion accounts, includes customer contracts, employees, manufacturing equipment and stock.
Sean Cairns, general manager of Sonoco Right Paper and Closures, Europe, described the deal as "a friendly takeover".
"Our customers will have a better profile on risk, and for the boys and girls in the place, they've now got a secure future," he said.
Cairns said that Sonoco approached Robinson after deciding that adding a separate site to its existing Manchester facility would be more beneficial to customers than simply increasing scale at Manchester, so that should anything happen at one location, work could continue at the other.
"It means we have effective backup," he said. "That's one of the biggest things of this buyout. The customers now have the security of multiple sites."
The deal brings more than £6m in revenues to Sonoco - Robinson Paperboard Packaging represented just under a quarter of Robinson's group revenues in 2010 - although it had not turned a profit in the past five years after losing a major contract.
Cairns added: "We're doing an operational review of the business to look at cost savings and efficiencies. I must stress though that we're in this for the long haul, we're not here to asset strip it."
He said that Robinson was a good fit for Sonoco's existing pan-European markets. "I've now got an increased portfolio," he said. "They are strong in confectionery and cosmetics, although there is some crossover in medium and high barrier products."
However, Cairns said that the momentum in paperboard packaging was only growing, driven by factors such as the Courtauld agreement. "I think where the market will go is tin conversion," he said. "My packaging is cheaper, lighter, more environmentally friendly and resistent to dents, so returns are fewer," citing products such as fresh coffee and infant formula as examples.
The business will continue to use Robinson plastic manufacturing capabilities to produce the caps for its products as it is the largest supplier in the UK.
Robinson said it would use the proceeds of the deal to pay down debt.
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