Souter Investments, the family investment office of transport entrepreneur Sir Brian Souter, has supported Lonsdale Capital Partners in their acquisition of Suominen Flexibles, the Nordic and Eastern European flexible plastic packaging business.
Suominen Flexibles supplies printed plastic film and certain converted products for consumer and industrial applications from three factories in Finland and Poland. It also has sales offices in Sweden and Russia. In 2013, Suominen Flexibles reported net sales of c €60 million.
Souter has taken a significant minority stake as part of the deal which values Suominen Flexibles at approximately €20 million.
John Berthinussen of Souter Investments commented: “We are delighted to support Lonsdale in their acquisition of Suominen Flexibles. We are sure that the business, led by incoming CEO Borge Kvamme and Deputy CEO Reima Kerttula, has a bright future.”
Alan Dargan of Lonsdale Capital Partners commented: “The existing management team and staff at Suominen Flexibles have accomplished a remarkable transformation of the business in 2014. Our objective is to build on this and grow Suominen Flexibles in the Nordic countries and in central and eastern Europe.”
Borge Kvamme who until recently was CEO of Kobusch, a European flexible packaging business headquartered in Germany, added “We have acquired a group with experienced and ambitious management and staff. The deep knowledge that Suominen Flexibles has of the plastic packaging sector, its core asset, will be strengthened by enhanced customer focus, increased efficiency and a boost in innovation”.
Reima Kerttula said that “Lonsdale and Souter are the perfect future partners for Suominen Flexibles, providing the focus and resources that the Company needs in order to fulfil our ambitions across our attractive markets, further develop our operations and serve our customers even better. This is the beginning of a new time for Suominen Flexibles.”
Suominen Flexibles is the fifth co-investment for Souter Investments and Lonsdale Capital Partners. The business was acquired from Suominen Corporation, a leading listed Finnish manufacturer of nonwovens and flexible packaging for use in consumer products worldwide. Suominen Corporation will continue to own a minority stake in the business, but focus on its core nonwovens business.
Suominen Flexibles in brief
Suominen Flexibles produces high-quality plastic film packaging for consumer applications for industry and the retail sector. It has been in the business since 1952.
Product segments include bakery packaging, tissue packaging, retail packaging, industrial packaging and system and security packaging. Suominen Flexibles has operations in Finland, Poland, Sweden, and Russia and exports products to 23 countries.
Souter Investments in brief
Souter Investments is the family investment office of Sir Brian Souter, co-founder and Chairman of Stagecoach Group plc. Souter Investments makes investments across a broad range of asset classes, with a primary focus on private equity; it also maintains allocations to other asset classes such as private equity funds, listed equities and property. Transport investments are made by Souter Investments’ sister company, Highland Global Transport.
Souter Investments unquoted holdings include stakes in Virgin Mobile Latin America, a virtual mobile network operator; Baywater Healthcare, a healthcare services business operating in the UK and Ireland; and Mobius Life, a specialist investment management company.
Transport investments include New Zealand based urban bus operators Mana Coach Services and Howick and Eastern Buses and ferry business Fullers Group; European intercity express coach operators PolskiBus.com and OnniBus.com; and leading international bus and coach manufacturer Alexander Dennis.
For more information visit www.souterinvestments.com and www.highlandglobaltransport.com.
Lonsdale Capital Partners in brief
Lonsdale was formed by Alan Dargan, Ross Finegan and David Gasparro in 2008 in order to acquire and grow profitable businesses led by strong management teams. SF will be Lonsdale's sixth acquisition. Lonsdale invests its own capital, along with that of a supporting group of family offices and high net worth individuals. For further information visit www.lonsdalepartners.com.