KKR & Co in talks to buy Singapore’s Goodpack in over $1 bn deal

Goodpack Ltd, a Singapore-based bulk cargo packaging company, yesterday confirmed media speculation that it is in talks to sell itself to US private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR).

"Discussions are still on-going and there is no certainty whatsoever that these discussions will result in any transaction," the Singapore Stock Exchange-listed company said in a statement.

Citing sources with direct knowledge of the matter, Reuters had on Monday reported that KKR & Co is nearing a deal to buy Goodpack, which has a market value of S$1.36 billion ($1.1 billion).

A successful deal would be KKR's first acquisition of a listed company from its latest Asia fund, which raised $6 billion, the report said

Goodpack has recently been in talks with potential buyers. In March Australian supply chain management company Brambles Ltd had said it said that its talks on a potential transaction, but a deal did not materialise.

That same month, Goodpack told the Singapore regulator that it had been approached by potential suitors, but did not identify the parties.

Goodpack provides a patented unique packaging alternative for bulk cargo to replace wooden boxes and metal drums with Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBC).

It owns and operates the world's largest fleet of over 2.6 million steel IBCs, each of which can hold 1.5 tonnes of goods.

Its customers include key tyre and automotive manufacturers, chemicals and juice producers, and general merchandisers.

Goodpack IBCs are used in over 70 countries and more than 5,000 locations worldwide, and its operations span the globe, including Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East, North and South America and Oceania.