Wendel, one of Europe’s leading investment firms, has signed an agreement to sell Constantia Flexibles (“The Company”), a global leader in the flexible packaging market, to an affiliate of One Rock Capital Partners, LLC. Constantia produces flexible packaging solutions for a diversified portfolio of blue-chip customers and local champions in the consumer and pharmaceutical industries. The closing of the transaction should take place during the second half of 2023, subject to the satisfaction of the contractual conditions and the clearance by regulatory authorities.
“The history of Constantia Flexibles within Wendel's portfolio highlights the validity of our long-term investor model, which has enabled us to support the Company in its development. Constantia Flexibles has thus placed innovation at the heart of its growth model, enabling it to rise to the challenge of the circular economy without compromising on the functional requirements of its products,” said David Darmon, Wendel Group’s Deputy CEO. “Under Pim Vervaat’s leadership, all Constantia Flexibles teams demonstrated their commitment and resilience during the Covid-19 crisis, and coped brilliantly with the recent disruptions in the energy and commodities markets. They enabled the Company to deliver outstanding operational, financial and extra-financial performance.”
"Our current position and success would not have been possible without Wendel's dedication and commitment,” added Pim Vervaat, CEO of Constantia Flexibles. “We are grateful for their supportive partnership over the years, which has enabled our growth and investments in our workforce, innovations, and sustainable offerings for the Consumer and Pharma markets. Working alongside Wendel has been a pleasure."
For more than 8 years, Wendel has supported Constantia Flexibles in its ESG challenges, and more specifically in the issues of the circular economy and the fight against climate change. As a result, since 2018 the Austrian group has had a greenhouse gas emissions reduction trajectory approved by the SBTi. 85% of its products are designed for recycling or have a recyclable alternative. Occupational safety has always been an absolute priority for Wendel, and special attention has been paid to this issue, resulting in continuous improvement, with the accident frequency rate falling from 13.4 in 2014 to 2.2 in 2022.
The relevance of the in-depth work carried out by Wendel and Constantia is reflected in the Group's excellent extra-financial ratings, with an A- rating from the CDP and the Ecovadis Gold medal, ranking Constantia among the top 2% of companies in its sector.