McDermott Advises on US$1.56 Billion Sale
NEW YORK — The international law firm of McDermott Will & Emery is pleased to announce that an agreement of sale for the plastic container and closure businesses of Firm client Schmalbach-Lubeca AG, a portfolio company of Allianz Capital Partners, has been reached with Amcor Limited. With the closing scheduled for 1 July 2002, subject to regulatory approvals, the Australian packaging company Amcor Limited will acquire the international PET and White Cap closure activities from Schmalbach-Lubeca, for the purchase price of Euro 1.725 billion (US$1.56 billion) before deduction of net financial debt. The product groups being sold reported a turnover of Euro 1.9 billion in 2001.
Led by Thomas Sauermilch, corporate partner in the Firm’s New York office, the McDermott legal team working on this matter included nearly 30 lawyers and numerous staff members from our offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, London and Washington, D.C. The lawyers involved included partners Scott Megregian, Diane Morgenthaler and Ellen Tenenbaum. As the agreement was being finalized, the McDermott team advised Schmalbach-Lubeca in both Dusseldorf and London regarding the sale, which includes operations in more than 30 countries.
Schmalbach-Lubeca AG, headquartered in Ratingen, Germany, is one of the leading international packaging producers. The company is the world market leader in the core business sectors of PET containers and a leading manufacturer of closures.
Amcor Limited, headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, is among the leading packaging companies in the world with operations in 29 countries, deriving about 50% of its earnings from outside Australasia. Amcor offers a wide range of packaging and packaging-related services, including corrugated boxes, cartons, aluminum and steel cans, flexible plastic packaging, PET plastic bottles and jars, closures and multi-wall sacks.
