Clondalkin Group Acquires Keller Crescent
EVANSVILLE, IN—06/26/07—Clondalkin Group, the international producer of flexible and specialist packaging products with over 40 production locations throughout Europe and the United States of America and annual sales in excess of $1 billion, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Keller Crescent, the largest independently owned producer of folding cartons, labels, inserts, outserts and other packaging components servicing the North American pharmaceutical and healthcare markets.
Keller Crescent is headquartered in Evansville, IN, and operates three main production plants in Evansville and Indianapolis, Indiana, and in Charlotte, North Carolina – all of which are primary locations ideally situated to service the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry which is the specialty of Keller Crescent. With its full range packaging-components manufacturing capability and its full service design and advertising capability, Keller Crescent is well established as the premier supplier of secondary packaging products for the pharmaceutical and healthcare markets, which account for more than 90% of its sales. Keller Crescent is the long standing and preferred supplier to several leading global pharmaceutical companies.
The acquisition expands Clondalkin’s prominent pharmaceutical packaging supply position to the status of market leadership in North America. Keller Crescent joins other dedicated Clondalkin pharmaceutical supply companies including Pharmagraphics, which operates four complementary production facilities in North Carolina, Connecticut and Puerto Rico. In the European market, Clondalkin supplies the pharmaceutical sector from Pharmagraphics Guy in Cork and from Kenilworth Products in Dublin, which together constitute the Irish supply base. In addition to these dedicated pharmaceutical packaging production sites, several other Clondalkin operations located in the United Kingdom, Poland, Netherlands and Germany also supply the pharmaceutical and healthcare markets.
Tom Smythe, the President of Keller Crescent, welcoming the acquisition said: “We are very pleased to become part of Clondalkin’s family of businesses. This is a great strategic fit that creates a real packaging powerhouse to serve the pharmaceutical/healthcare packaging markets. Clondalkin’s complementary resources coupled with our unwavering commitment to quality will make us even more attractive to pharma/healthcare companies. Our geographic reach and production capacity has dramatically increased as a result of joining the Clondalkin Group. The acquisition opens an exciting phase of new opportunities for all our management, employees and most particularly our customers.”
Commenting on the acquisition, Norbert McDermott, the Clondalkin Group CEO, said:
“We are delighted to complete the Keller Crescent acquisition. Keller Crescent is deservedly the strongest independent brand name in the pharmaceutical market in North America and is synonymous with top quality service and supply of packaging components to the pharmaceutical markets.
“In terms of locations, technology, product capability and customers supplied, Keller Crescent complements our Pharmagraphics operations extremely well. Coupled with our European capabilities, Clondalkin now has the presence and experience to service this truly global market. In total, we have 10 dedicated pharmaceutical packaging production locations in the United States, Ireland, Poland and Puerto Rico and we also deliver the pharmaceutical standard as a specialization from several more of our production sites.
“Completing the Keller Crescent acquisition is a very important step in enhancing Clondalkin’s product portfolio, where our focus is on high value added products, as it increases our pharmaceutical, healthcare, cosmetics/toiletries and personal-care activities to almost 25% of our annual Group sales.
“By continuously developing our existing operations and by acquiring well-established complementary businesses, Clondalkin has been successfully repositioned as one of the most diversified groups in the worldwide packaging sector. In addition to the pharmaceutical specialization, we also have strong positions in food and beverage, accounting for 25% of annual sales and in industrial, services, agricultural and fast-moving-consumer-goods which each account for between 10% and 15% of our sales.
“In anticipation of this acquisition and further near term development opportunities, we are also pleased to announce that we have successfully completed a major refinancing of Clondalkin in recent weeks whereby we accessed two new tranches of Floating Rate Note bonds. Reflecting our strong financial performance, the bond offering was over subscribed by a record breaking nine times.
“We welcome the Keller Crescent companies into Clondalkin Group and we look forward to continuing the successful development of its business with the help of its management and employees.”
- Companies:
- Clondalkin Group
- Keller Crescent Co.