RPC Group receives bid from US plastics manufacturer

United States-based plastics manufacturing company Berry Global Group Inc. has announced an agreement for it to acquire RPC Group Plc, a United Kingdom-based packaging firm.

The price tag on the deal is £5 billion ($6.6 billion) in cash and refinancing considerations, which reportedly tops an earlier bid made by the New York-based venture capital firm Apollo Global Management LLC. The acquisition is expected to be complete by the third quarter of this year.

The board of directors of RPC has unanimously recommended the “superior offer by Berry,” according to a Berry Global press release.

RPC provides plastic and recycled-content products for packaging and some non-packaging markets. The company has 153 manufacturing locations globally and a commercial presence in 33 countries. The combined company would have combined revenue of approximately $13 billion and some 48,000 employees on six continents.

“We are highly impressed by the tremendous depth of talent and resources embedded within RPC, and are looking forward to the opportunity to strengthen our combined platform with the wealth of experience and expertise this team has to offer,” says Tom Salmon, chair and CEO of Berry. “We believe this transaction will further enhance the long-term outlook for our business and will provide a unique value creation opportunity for our shareholders.”