EVANSVILLE, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today Berry Plastics Group, Inc. (NYSE: BERY) announced that its acquisition of the controlling interest of Qingdao P&B Co., Ltd (P&B) has been approved by the competent approval authority in China. Pending registration with the local company registry, which is expected to be completed by February 2014, Berry Plastics will own 75 percent of P&B, with a minority ownership position retained by Peter Song, who is the original founder of P&B and the current General Manager of the business. Song will remain in the same position going forward.
The company will conduct business under the name Qingdao Berry Plastics Limited and provide rigid plastic packaging and personal care products to customers located in China as well as globally. P&B has annual revenues of $34 million. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed
P&B is an established packaging business with operations and headquarters in the Qingdao, China free-trade zone, where it operates a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. P&B utilizes thermoform, injection, and automated assembly manufacturing processes to produce products for multiple markets across China as well as globally, most predominately serving the food and personal care markets.
“This acquisition is in direct alignment with our strategic objective of establishing a business presence in emerging global markets,” said Jon Rich, Chairman and CEO of Berry Plastics. “Berry Plastics is a leader in the North American plastic packaging market, while P&B is a leader in China’s packaging market. Through this joint venture, we will capitalize on our combined business strengths to bring an increased number of innovative products to the Chinese and Asian markets, allowing us to best serve our customers and create increased value for our shareholders.”
“P&B has served as a supplier to Berry Plastics for over seven years. During this time, we have had the opportunity to get to know each other well and develop a strong relationship. Solidifying this relationship and becoming part of the Berry Plastics family is a natural progression and our veteran employees cheer on this new partnership," said Song. "We are excited to be able to expand our services by tapping into world class level R&D and manufacturing capabilities to fulfill our customers packaging needs.”
About Berry Plastics
Berry Plastics Group, Inc. is a leading provider of value-added plastic consumer packaging and engineered materials delivering high-quality customized solutions to our customers with annual net sales of over $4.6 billion in fiscal 2013. With world headquarters in Evansville, Indiana, the Company’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BERY. For additional information, visit the Company’s website at www.berryplastics.com.
Forward-looking statements
Certain statements and information included in this release may constitute "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the Federal Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of Berry Plastics to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied in such forward looking statements. Additional discussion of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from management’s projections, forecasts, estimates and expectations is contained in the companies' SEC filings. The companies do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.