Dive Brief:
- Gerresheimer, the German manufacturer of pharmaceutical and cosmetics packaging, announced Wednesday it’s selling two businesses, including certain U.S.-based assets, to an affiliate of London-based private equity firm Apax Partners.
- The deal includes the global Primary Packaging Plastics (PPP) business as well as Ohio-based Centor US Holding. The businesses’ combined enterprise value is about 1.5 billion euros, Gerresheimer said in a news release, but it did not disclose details of the purchase agreement.
- The sale of Centor, which the company teased in February, is expected to close by the end of financial year 2026. The sale of PPP is expected to close in the first half of FY27.
Dive Insight:
Gerresheimer says proceeds from these sales will help it decrease leverage. The company recently reported having about 2 billion euros worth of debt.
Since last September, European financial regulators have been investigating Gerresheimer’s accounting practices. Gerresheimer most recently released updated, audited results at the end of June that reflected a “challenging year,” but noted organic growth in plastics and devices.
The newly announced deal with Apax “allows us to regain our strategic flexibility,” CEO Uwe Röhrhoff said in a statement Wednesday. “We are focusing our business even more strongly on high-value drug delivery and medical devices, and primary packaging for injectable drugs.”
As for Apax, it has ambitions to grow the business in the United States. “As an independent company backed by the Apax Funds, the business will have the capital to invest in capacity, innovation and US expansion, building on its global leadership in healthcare packaging,” said Mehmet Tar, principal at Apax, in a statement.
The deal is the latest development for Gerresheimer’s U.S. presence.
In Ohio, Centor is headquartered in Perrysburg, with production listed in the towns of Millersburg and Berlin. PPP, which has a presence across nine countries, is also listed as operating in Berlin, Ohio.
Gerresheimer’s website also lists glass locations in Vineland, New Jersey, and Morganton, North Carolina. Gerresheimer announced this spring that it would close a molded glass facility in Chicago Heights, Illinois, laying off 172 employees.
Gerresheimer also has a site in Peachtree City, Georgia, which it says houses manufacturing for medical systems and a technical competence center. It underwent an $88 million expansion within the last few years, and the company has reportedly invested in automation.
Reuters reported earlier this year that Connecticut-based packaging company Silgan was courting Gerresheimer, but that Gerresheimer rejected a takeover bid; talks between the two companies have since ended. Gerresheimer had previously been exploring a sale early in 2025 amid private equity interest, Bloomberg reported.
