Graham Packaging to acquire Liquid Container for $568 million

Graham Packaging Company Inc. yesterday said that it has agreed to acquire Liquid Container, L.P. for $568 million.

Graham Packaging, based in York, Pennsylvania, is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and sale of technology-based, customised blow moulded plastic containers for the food and beverage, household, personal care / specialty and automotive lubricants product categories.

Graham Packaging has an extensive blue-chip customer base that includes many of the world's largest branded consumer products companies. It produces more than 20 billion container units annually at 83 plants in North America, Europe, South America, and China.

West Chicago, Illinois-based privately held Liquid Container is a leading manufacturer and marketer of custom and stock HDPE and PET rigid plastic containers. With award-wining, innovative designs, sophisticated manufacturing technology, Liquid Container operates with14 manufacturing locations across the US.

Liquid Container is one of North America's largest merchant blow moulders of high-density HDPE and PET bottles and containers.

The company is expected to have net sales in North America of almost $400 million and EBITDA of approximately $72 million in 2010. Approximately 80 per cent of Liquid Container's unit sales are supplied to customers in the food industry.