Packaging producer Plasticum Group (Tilburg / The Netherlands; www.tcplasticum.com) has agreed to acquire Berry UK, subsidiary of US-based Berry Plastics (Evansville, Indiana; www.berryplastics.com). Plasticum, which was sold by Royal Ten Cate in 2006 to the unit´s management and private equity investor NPM Capital (Amsterdam / The Netherlands; www.npm-capital.com), has a portfolio ranging from aerosol caps and dispensers to closures and containers. The company said the takeover of Berry UK will allow it to "further strengthen" its leading position in aerosol caps and spray caps, adding that the third acquisition after its split from Ten Cate "fits well" with its buy & build growth strategy.

Berry Plastics´ US merger with Covalence Specialty Materials (Bedminster, New Jersey; www.covcorp.com) into the Berry Plastics Group meanwhile has been completed, some three weeks after announcement of the plans – see Plasteurope.com Web of 22.03.2007. The company´s plastics packaging arm, Covalence Plastics (www.covalenceplastics.com) is based at Minneapolis, Minnesota / USA. The combined business will have sales of around USD 3 bn and 13,800 employees at 62 sites and will be one of the world´s largest plastic packaging producers. Berry was acquired in 2006 by US private equity investors Apollo Management (New York City) and Graham Partners (New York City; www.grahampartners.net) for USD 2.25 bn – see Plasteurope.com Web of 04.07.2006. Covalence was formerly part of the Tyco empire.