Corby packaging firm buys Spanish counterpart

The owner of Corby-based Solidus Solutions, Aurelius Equity Opportunities, has acquired Abelan Board Industrial, a major producer of core board and solid board packaging products operating out of southern Europe, from PHI Industrial.

The deal represents Aurelius’ third acquisition in the European packaging sector since 2015.

Following completion of the deal, the operations of Abelan will be combined with Solidus, the producer of solid board, graphic board and solid board packaging, which previously integrated the Northern European activities of Abelan in June 2016.

Managing director of Abelan, Simón Roda, will continue to lead the company.

Founded in 1911, Abelan is one of Europe’s leading providers of core board and solid board packaging solutions. The company is headquartered in San Andrés in northern Spain and employs around 250 people across three manufacturing facilities in Spain and France. It is projected to generate revenues of approximately €70m in 2017. Abelan has two key areas of expertise: the production of core board, for cardboard tubes, boxes and other applications within packaging, and its solid board packaging division, which supplies a large variety of boxes and trays to major distribution brands in the European agricultural, meat, flower and various other industries.

Following completion of the deal, Abelan will be combined with Solidus Solutions to form a company of around 1,000 employees. Solidus already has significant market share in Europe with production facilities in the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK, having integrated its sites after AURELIUS acquired the Northern European activities of Abelan in June 2016, as well as dedicated sales offices in France and Norway.

Aurelias board member Gert Purkert said: “We are extremely pleased to be announcing AURELIUS’ acquisition of Abelan, a company performing impressively in a sector in which AURELIUS has previously invested.

“This strategic acquisition will enable Solidus to further diversify its operations geographically, realise significant synergies, accelerate its growth into a leading pan-European mid-market business and establish itself as a true champion in the areas of solid board, graphic board and core board. Following the successful investment in Tavex Europe, this deal also highlights Aurelias’ continued commitment to the Iberian Peninsula, supported by its local office in Madrid.”