The takeover battle for Swiss packaging group SIG Holding (Neuhausen; www.sig.biz) is now in full swing. In late December 2006, the Rank Group (Auckland / New Zealand), private investment company of billionaire Graeme Hart, bid CHF 370 (around EUR 232) per share, topping the CHF 325 (EUR 203m) hostile offer made by the Norwegian Ferd group and CVC Capital Partners, the private equity owners of Norwegian packaging group Elopak (Spikkestad; www.elopak.com) – see Plasteurope.com Web of 20.11.2006. Days later, Elopak countered with a higher bid of CHF 400 (EUR 240).

SIG´s management has not officially reacted to either of the newer bids. Initially, the company said the Norwegian offer was too low and invited other contenders into the ring. While stating repeatedly that there were other interested parties beyond Elopak, it declined to reveal names, and later was asked by the Swiss takeover panel UEK to do so. Rank, which has interests in forestry as well as packaging, said it would leave SIG´s management and Swiss headquarters in place and would use the company as a platform for further expansion.

The European Commission meanwhile has expressed concern about possible concentration in the packaging sector, should the Elopak backers be successful. The Commission has given itself until 15 May 2007 to conduct a full investigation into the Ferd / CVC bid. It said the European carton packaging market is already highly concentrated, with one large supplier (Tetra Pak) and two smaller ones (SIG and Elopak) accounting for nearly 100%. The merger of numbers two and three would still leave Tetra Pak at the top.