Sonoco to Acquire Eviosys for $3.9 Billion

Sonoco Products Company announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Eviosys, Europe’s leading food cans, ends and closures manufacturer, from KPS Capital Partners, LP for approximately $3.9 billion.

The transaction accelerates Sonoco’s strategy to focus on and scale its core businesses and invest in high return opportunities, both organically and inorganically. Following the transaction, Sonoco will be the leading metal food can and aerosol packaging manufacturer globally.

Eviosys is a leading global supplier of metal packaging, producing food cans and ends, aerosol cans, metal closures and promotional packaging to preserve the products of hundreds of consumer brands.

Eviosys has the largest metal food can manufacturing footprint in the EMEA region, with approximately 6,300 employees in 44 manufacturing facilities across 17 countries. Sonoco estimates Eviosys’s 2024 revenues will be approximately $2.5 billion and its 2024 adjusted EBITDA will be approximately $430 million.

Eviosys has meaningful commercial and operational momentum and has increased EBITDA by approximately 50% since 2021.

Sonoco expects to achieve more than $100 million of synergies from the integration of Eviosys with Sonoco’s complementary metal can business. Rodger Fuller, Sonoco’s COO, will lead the integration with a focus on customer and supplier relationships, employee continuity, operational excellence, and synergy realization, while combining the best of Sonoco’s culture with rich history and heritage of Eviosys.

“The acquisition of Eviosys establishes our global leadership in metal food can and aerosol packaging, marking an exciting milestone in our strategy to scale our core strategic metal packaging platform and position Sonoco for long-term value creation,” said Howard Coker, president and CEO of Sonoco. “Eviosys brings extensive global reach and an attractive, growing customer base that perfectly complements our existing metal packaging offering. Together with the talented team at Eviosys, we are focused on unlocking new opportunities in attractive end-markets, providing our customers with a stronger value proposition and generating strong returns for our shareholders.”

“For over 200 years, we have provided best-in-class metal packaging that enhances the appeal of our customers’ brands,” said Tomas Lopez, CEO of Eviosys. “By combining with Sonoco, we will work to bring our high quality, sustainable and innovative packaging solutions to new and existing customers around the globe. Our companies share a strong commitment to providing the highest levels of customer service, safety for our employees, and operating efficiencies, and I look forward to joining the incredibly talented team at Sonoco as we work to deliver the benefits of this acquisition to all our stakeholders.”

The acquisition of Eviosys builds on the 2022 acquisition of Ball Metalpack and generates another leading position in a core business for Sonoco.

Combining Eviosys’s leading position in EMEA with Sonoco’s existing position in the U.S. expands Sonoco’s total addressable market in metal packaging to approximately $25 billion globally.

The acquisition of Eviosys is a meaningful advancement of Sonoco’s portfolio transformation strategy that also includes significant divestitures. Sonoco intends to divest ThermoSafe, its leading temperature assured packaging business, as well as other businesses and expects to achieve at least $1 billion of total proceeds from divestitures in the next 12 to 18 months.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sonoco will acquire Eviosys from KPS for approximately $3.9 billion (€3.615 billion) on a cash-free, debt-free basis. Sonoco has committed financing for the entirety of the transaction price.

The Boards of Directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction. The transaction expected to occur by the end of 2024, subject to the completion of required works council consultations, the receipt of required regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Eviosys’s current CEO, Tomas Lopez, will remain with Sonoco and lead the company’s EMEA metal packaging business.