EQT exits China packaging business to OTPP

The deal is said to value the company at around USD 700m to USD 800m. EQT acquired a 37% stake in 2017 via its USD 800m Mid-Market Asia III fund, which makes deployments in a range of EUR 40-100m (USD 40-100m).

OTPP described the deal as its first co-control investment in the region; the pension fund's first sole-control PE buyout was announced last month with the acquisition of India's Sahyadri Hospitals. GPA’s two founders, Tom Wang and Adam Melton, will roll over their respective stakes and continue to lead the company.

China-focused private equity firm FountainVest Partners was among the shortlisted bidders in the transaction. It has experience in the packaging industry with the acquisition of China Merchants Loscam in 2018 alongside CITIC Capital Partners for CNY 2.5bn (USD 354m).

Founded as Green Packaging Asia in 2007, GPA is a full-service packaging provider for more than 600 brands in North America and Europe serving end-markets across consumer electronics, beverage, jewellery, health, and beauty. The manufacturing footprint spans Asia, North America, and Europe.

During EQT’s holding period, GPA transformed from an Asia-focused consumer electronics packaging specialist into a global packaging platform serving a diversified mix of customers and end-markets. This period saw the company grow operations from 150 employees in a single office to around 2,000 employees across 31 offices.

The expansion has been driven largely by seven add-on acquisitions, including companies focused on luxury goods packaging, sustainable packaging, printing, and e-commerce distribution. There has also been significant investment in management, including regional heads in North America and Europe following relevant acquisitions in those markets,

“GPA is a great example of how EQT can partner with founder management teams to unlock the full potential of their business, and support their global expansion ambitions,” David Forde, a managing director at EQT, said in a statement.

“In addition to growing earnings five-fold over the investment period, GPA has also thoughtfully laid the foundations for sustained long-term growth through a continued broadening of its capability set, geographic presence and addressable end-markets.”

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Consumer
• Support services
• Trade sale
• Buyouts
• China
• EQT Partners
• OTPP
• manufacturing
• Logistics