Novolex acquires Waddington Group

Hartsville, South Carolina-based Novolex, which bills itself as a packaging sector firm with sustainable choices, has announced it will acquire The Waddington Group from Newell Brands Inc., in a transaction Novolex says it expects to close by late July 2018.

Covington, Kentucky-based Waddington Group describes itself as a global manufacturer and marketer of packaging and disposables for the food service, bakery, deli, produce and confectionery markets. Novolex packaging is found in the retail, grocery, food service, hospitality, institutional and industrial sectors.

“We are excited to add The Waddington Group to the Novolex family of businesses,” says Stan Bikulege, chair and CEO of Novolex. “This is a period of strategic growth and development at Novolex. Adding rigid plastic food packaging and an expanded range of sustainable packaging products have been key strategic priorities, and The Waddington Group has long been our top acquisition target.”

The acquisition of The Waddington Group is Novolex’s eighth since 2012. “The Novolex team and our financial partners have brought together a select group of great businesses – all leaders in their respective product categories – into the Novolex family,” states Bikulege.

With the addition of The Waddington Group, Novolex will have approximately 10,000 employees and 62 manufacturing plants worldwide.

The Waddington Group has a footprint that includes 16 sites in the United States, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and approximately 3,000 employees worldwide. One Waddington subsidiary is Eco-Products, which makes food service items made with post-consumer recycled materials and in ways designed to be renewable and compostable.

Novolex, a part of Charlotte, North Carolina-based asset management firm The Carlyle Group, oversees brands that include Hilex Poly, Duro Bag, Bagcraft Packaging, De Luxe Packaging, General Packaging Products, International Converter, Shields, Heritage Bag, and Burrows Packaging.

Equity for the acquisition will come from Carlyle Partners VI, a $13 billion U.S. buyout fund.