New York, NY and Toronto, Canada, November 17, 2021 – Oak Hill Capital (“Oak Hill”) and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPP Investments”) have entered into a definitive recapitalization agreement with Berlin Packaging L.L.C. (“Berlin Packaging”) to facilitate the next stage of its growth.
The Berlin Packaging management team, including Global CEO and President, Bill Hayes, will make a significant investment in the company alongside Oak Hill and CPP Investments. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.
Berlin Packaging is a global supplier of packaging products and services across multiple substrates and end-markets, providing customers of all sizes with solutions to meet their business needs. With annual sales approaching US$2.5 billion, Berlin Packaging is the world’s largest Hybrid Packaging Supplier® of glass, plastic, and metal containers and closures. The company’s unique business model combines the best elements of manufacturers, distributors, and value-added service providers. Berlin Packaging’s range of services includes structural packaging and brand design, sustainability solutions, worldwide sourcing, global warehousing and logistics, and quality and lab testing services.
“We are excited that our relationship with valued investors, Oak Hill and CPP Investments, will continue. We have multiple strategic initiatives underway, including expanding our digital and e-commerce capabilities, increasing our portfolio of sustainable products and solutions, and continuing our track record of accretive acquisitions across the company’s key geographic regions of Americas; Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA); and Asia-Pacific (APAC). This recapitalization will help accelerate all of those important initiatives,” said Bill Hayes.
“We started our partnership with Berlin Packaging back in 2014,” said Brian Cherry, a Managing Partner at Oak Hill. “The company now operates on four continents and continues to be a best-in-class business. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Bill and his management team and maximizing the sizeable growth opportunities ahead.”
“Berlin Packaging’s growth and commitment to innovation continues to deliver value for its customers and suppliers, making the company a good fit for our long-term investment strategy,” said Sam Blaichman, Managing Director, Direct Private Equity, CPP Investments. “We look forward to supporting Berlin Packaging in its next phase of growth and international expansion alongside our equity partner, Oak Hill, as well as Bill and the management team.”
About Berlin Packaging L.L.C.
Berlin Packaging is the world’s largest Hybrid Packaging Supplier® of glass, plastic, and metal containers and closures. The company supplies billions of items annually, along with structural packaging and brand design, sustainability solutions, worldwide sourcing, global warehousing and logistics, and quality and lab testing services, for customers of all sizes across all industries. Berlin Packaging combines the best elements of manufacturers, distributors, and value-added service providers. Berlin Packaging’s mission is to increase the net income of its customers through packaging products and services. For more information, please visit BerlinPackaging.com.
About Oak Hill
Oak Hill is a private equity firm managing funds with over $17 billion of initial capital commitments and co-investments since inception. Over the past 35 years, Oak Hill and its predecessors have invested in over 100 private equity transactions across broad segments of the U.S. and global economies. Oak Hill applies an industry-focused, theme-based approach to investing in the following sectors: Industrials, Services, Media & Communications, and Consumer. Oak Hill works actively in partnership with management to implement strategic and operational initiatives to create franchise value. For more information, please visit www.oakhill.com.
About Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) is a professional investment management organization that manages the fund in the best interest of the more than 20 million contributors and beneficiaries of the Canada Pension Plan. In order to build diversified portfolios of assets, investments are made around the world in public equities, private equities, real estate, infrastructure and fixed income. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, New York City, San Francisco, São Paulo and Sydney, CPP Investments is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm’s length from governments. At September 30, 2021, the Fund totalled C$541.5 billion. For more information, please visit www.cppinvestments.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements included herein may constitute “forward-looking statements,” which relate to future events, the future performance, or financial condition of Berlin Packaging following the recapitalization of Berlin Packaging by Oak Hill and CPP Investments. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, condition, or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results and condition may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors.