US food packaging company Crown Holdings to buy Spain’s Mivisa Envases for $1.65 bn

US food packaging company Crown Holdings Inc yesterday said that it will buy Spanish food-can producer Mivisa Envases for €1.2 billion ($1.65 billion) in order to expand in the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco.

Crown is buying Mivisa from private equity firm Blackstone Group, N+1 Mercapital and management, who had acquired the Murcia, Spain-based company in 2011 for an undisclosed sum.

The acquisition, which is subject to review by the European Commission and other competition authorities, is expected to close during 2014.

Mivisa is a leading manufacturer of metal packaging for the food canning industry, primarily for the vegetable, fruit, fish and meat segments.

Founded in 1972 by the Vivancos family, Mivisa has transformed itself from a small family business to become the largest food can producer in both the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco.

It is a leader in the Spanish market of metal packaging for the food industry. Its recent international expansion has enabled it to become the third-largest European manufacturer in its sector.

Mivisa has six factories in Spain and four overseas and reported revenues of €555 million for the year ended 30 June.

Philadelphia-based Crown is a leading manufacturer of packaging products for consumer marketing companies around the world.  It makes a wide range of metal packaging for food, beverage, household and personal care and industrial products and metal vacuum closures and caps.

The company operates 149 plants in 41 countries and employs around 21,800 people.

Crown chairman and CEO, John Conway, said, "We are excited about the acquisition of Mivisa, as it will significantly build upon Crown's existing position in the strategically important European food can segment by substantially increasing our presence in Spain, one of Europe's leading agricultural economies.''

''We believe that adding this well-performing business to our broad network of food can operations in Europe will result in compelling benefits to both customers and shareholders," he added.