NEWS RPC in the spotlight as Apollo bids


Private equity firm Apollo Global Management has agreed to buy UK-based RPC Group, the rigid and flexible packaging com- pany, for £3.3m through a newly formed subsidiary. The week after the deal was announced, US packaging giant Berry Global said it was also considering a cash offer for RPC Group to rival the Apollo bid. The £7.82/share offer


from Apollo represents a 15.6% premium on the company’s share price on the last day before the offer began. RPC chairman Jamie Pike and the board of directors said they believed the terms to be “fair and reasonable” and will


Patrimonium takes stake in Hübner


Patrimonium Private Equity, a division of Switzerland’s Patrimo- nium Asset Management, has acquired a majority stake in C. Hübner, which specialises in surface technology. Hübner employs over 200 people in tool making, plastic injection moulding and plastic electroplating at three sites in Marktober- dorf, Bavaria. It mainly supplies the sanitary, automotive and consum- er products markets. Thomas Hübner, the


third-generation man- ager of the family-owned firm, will remain MD. � www.patrimonium.ch


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the financial community due to its high-profile M&A programme. At the same time, media hysteria was rife against plastic.”


RPC agreed a new three-year rigid packaging supply deal with Norwegian dairy group TINE in January


recommend that sharehold- ers accept. Pike reiterated that in July 2018 he had said that “differing investor views on the appropriate level of gearing was constraining the group’s ability to pursue opportunities for growth and, as such, putting pressure on RPC’s valuation”. This, he added, was the


culmination of the process the board had started to resolve the situation. “It is not all that surprising to see another UK PLC disappear from the public market in this manner,” said Nicholas Mockett, head of packaging M&A at Moor- gate Capital in the UK. “RPC had fallen out of favour with


RPC had been in negotia- tions with Apollo and another potential bidder, Bain Capital, since 2018. Bain pulled out ahead of the December deadline, though this had to be extended three times before Apollo finally made its offer. Apollo previously owned the US-based Berry Global and has had many other invest- ments in chemicals down the years. In early February, it was reported RPC management would have talks with Berry about its potential offer. � www.rpc-group.com


Hella in car lighting partnerships


Hella, the German supplier of lighting technology and electronic products for the automotive sector, has formed two partnerships with Tier 1 suppliers: one with Plastic Omnium on integrat- ed car body lighting and the other with Faurecia for the development of interior lighting systems. Terms were not disclosed in either case. The collaboration with Plastic Omnium will involve engineering and design experts from both compa- nies, and will be based in Germany. The focus will be on new systems integrating innovative lighting technolo- gies, and intelligent exterior systems, at the front and at the rear of the car, including “smart bumpers and tailgates, enriched with


INJECTION WORLD | January/February 2019


communication and lighting features”, according to Laurent Burelle, chairman and CEO of Plastic Omnium. Faurecia’s and Hella’s


strategic partnership will jointly develop “lighting with high-technology content in the domain of surface-lighting and dynamic-lighting for a more personalised cockpit environment”, as trends like


autonomous driving and individualisation redefine vehicle interiors. The two companies had already showcased what they called “a unique ambient lighting experience for a more comfortable, dynamic and versatile environment integrated into a cockpit of the future” at the Paris Motor Show in October 2018. � www.hella.com


Hella and Faurecia are already collaborating on car interiors www.injectionworld.com


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