Liqui-Box, a maker of liquid packaging products and a portfolio company of Olympus Partners, has signed an agreement to acquire the operations of Maverick Engineering and Maverick Flexibles from Maverick (Pty) Ltd. Olympus acquired Liqui-Box in October 2015 from The Sterling Group.
Maverick Engineering is a manufacturer of bag-in-box equipment and Maverick Flexibles designs and manufactures specialty films and laminates used in the food and beverage markets. Both operations are based in Cape Town, South Africa (www.maverickengineering.co.za) (www.maverickflexible.co.za).
Liqui-Box is a supplier of bag-in-box flexible packaging to the dairy, beverage and bulk food markets. The company’s bag-in-box packaging is used in the foodservice industry to package dairy mix for milkshakes and coffee drinks, fountain beverage syrup and pumpable liquid foods such as food concentrates and sauces. Liqui-Box also produces pouches and rigid plastic water bottles. Liqui-Box was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Richmond, VA (www.liquibox.com).
“Maverick is the first in a series of acquisitions planned for Liqui-Box and aligns with the strategic investments we continue to pursue. The acquisition of Maverick is an ideal fit to Liqui-Box’s portfolio and will be an important contributor to our future growth plans,” said Manu Bettegowda, a partner at Olympus.
Olympus, with $5.5 billion of total capital under management, provides equity capital for middle market management buyouts and for companies needing capital for expansion. Sectors of interest include restaurants, consumer products, healthcare services, financial services and business services. The firm was founded in 1988 and is based in Stamford (www.olympuspartners.com).
“Maverick brings a world-class team of people and game changing innovation around all aspects of the bag-in-box manufacturing and converting process that will immediately take Liqui-Box’s capabilities to a new level,” said Ken Swanson, President and CEO of Liqui-Box. “Combining Maverick with Liqui-Box will be transformational for the bag-in-box market as we fully integrate our various substrates and fitment designs with a best-in-class bag making process into all of our manufacturing plants around the world.”
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 6-7-16
