US packaging giant Sonoco (Hartsville, South Carolina; www.sonoco.com) has signed a definite agreement to acquire a two-thirds stake in Brazilian flexible packaging producer Graffo Paranaense de Embalagens (Pinhais; www.graffo.ind.br). Financial details of the deal, which is expected to close in Q2 this year, were not disclosed.

Founded in 2001, Graffo’s revenues came to about USD 35m in 2014. The company – whose clients include international confectionary, dairy, pharmaceutical and industrial giants like Coca-Cola, Ferrero, Arcor, GlaxoSmithKline and Nestle, among others – operates several high-quality rotogravure printing presses as well as lamination applications at its plant in Pinhais. Its workforce comes to about 230.

The plastics processed by Graffo at its 12,500 m² facility include BOPP, PET, metallised PET, PE and PVC, among others, while its product portfolio includes wrappings, blister packages as well as stand-up pouches. The company also operates a test laboratory. Commenting on the deal, Sonoco CEO Jack Sanders said, “We were looking to invest jointly in Brazil with a partner who has strong technical capabilities and established relationships with both large global consumer product companies and growing local businesses.”

Sonoco recently widened its footprint in Europe through the acquisition of composite cans, drums and rigid plastic containers producer Weidenhammer Packaging Group (Hockenheim / Germany; www.weidenhammer.de) – for details, see Plasteurope.com of 04.11.2014.