— By Plasteurope.com staff — 

US packaging group Berlin Packaging (Chicago, Illinois; www.berlinpackaging.com) is in the process of expanding its business in Europe. For an unnamed sum, the company has acquired the much smaller German supplier Rixius (Mannheim; www.rixius.com). The seller is German private-equity firm BWK (Stuttgart; www.bwk.de), which has been the majority shareholder of Rixius since 2007. The transaction is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter. 

Packaging wholesaler Rixius is specialised in dimensionally stable packaging for the chemical, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and food & drinks industries in the DACH and Benelux regions. The production range includes packaging made of polyethylene, PET, and glass.

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For Berlin Packaging, although Rixius is the first acquisition in Germany, it is just one of a number of takeovers made by the US packaging manufacturer in Europe since 2016. In fact, the company is now represented in 15 countries — including Albania, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK. At the beginning of this year, Berlin Packaging acquired Irish packaging manufacturer Alpack.

The US company, which is owned by investment firm Oak Hill Capital Partners and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, produces and markets packaging made of plastic, glass, and metal.

— Translated by Jon Relton