Gerresheimer Group (Düsseldorf / Germany; www.gerresheimer.de) has reached agreement with Bert and Hans Wilden about a takeover of the family-owned Wilden Group (Regensburg / Germany; www.wilden.com) – see Plasteurope.com Web of 18.12.2006. Terms of the purchase have not been disclosed; however, reports suggest the figure is close to EUR 300m. Following the acquisition, a new company has been founded under the name Gerresheimer Wilden AG, which will be managed by Klaus Walber (CEO) and Manfred Baumann. The latter was formerly responsible for the Wilden Technical division.

The new company will have sales of more than EUR 900m, divided fairly evenly among three divisions – Tubular Glass, Moulded Glass and Plastic Systems. The takeover of Wilden is likely to lend a boost to plans by Gerresheimer – wholly owned by private equity group Blackstone Capital Partners (New York City / USA; www.blackstone.com) – for a stock launch. This could take place in Q2 or Q3 2007.

Adding Wilden´s EUR 240m in annual sales to Gerresheimer´s EUR 50m will push the new grouping´s plastics business close to EUR 300m. Just over half of the Gerresheimer turnover up to now has with blister packaging, a business acquired with the former Superfos Pharma (Vaerloese / Denmark), now trading as Dudek Plast (www.dudek-plast.com). A spokesman for the Düsseldorf group said there are no plans to sell Wilden´s Technical Plastics Systems business, which manufactures injection moulded products mainly for the automobile industry.

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