Graham Packaging to buy Italian blow molding company
The firm said its subsidiary in Italy, Graham Packaging Company Italia S.r.l., had committed to acquire the assets of Techne – Technipack Engineering Italia S.r.l – which produces extrusion blow molding machines.
Bologna-based Techne, currently in administration, produces bottles for the food, beverage, pharmaceutical and personal care industries. It has installed more than 1,000 machines for 200 customers in 70 countries, said Graham.
Under the terms of the deal, Graham would acquire intellectual property, inventory, fixed assets, customer relationships, and trade agreements. The US firm said it would continue operations in the Italian company’s current plant.
The takeover is subject to a number of approvals, including by Techne's creditors and the Court of Bologna, which is overseeing current liquidation proceedings.
"Techne's assets significantly expand our proprietary machine technology and allow us to continue to drive innovation and cost effectiveness with our customers," said Mark Burgess, CEO of Graham. "Their installed base of over 1000 machines gives us additional opportunities to expand our activity in international markets and other market adjacencies."
Last week, it was announced that Silgan had reached an agreement to buy Graham Packaging for US$4.1bn.
