OpenGate Capital, a global private equity firm, has confirmed that it has completed the sale of NorPaper Group to Gemayel Freres & Chaoui Industriel Group, a Lebanon-based business specialised in corrugated and packaging products. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
OpenGate Capital acquired NorPaper from Cascades, in 2011. NorPaper is a producer of Whitetop Testliner. Realising an opportunity to increase capacity within NorPaper, OpenGate completed an accretive, add-on acquisition in February of 2015 of DS Smith Packaging Papeterie de Nantes SAS. Integrated into NorPaper, Nantes broadened the product portfolio and added 50,000 tonnes per year of production capacity. The Nantes mill also addressed growing market demand for paper products in a wider grammage and trim range. Combined, NorPaper and Nantes have an annual capacity of 200,000 tonnes, making it one of the leading Whitetop Testliner producers in France and among the top five in Europe.
Andrew Nikou, OpenGate’s Founder and CEO stated, “We are incredibly proud of OpenGate’s investment in NorPaper from sourcing the acquisition through our relationship with Cascades, to the add-on acquisition from DS Smith. As we transfer the business to Gemayel & Chaoui Industriel Group, we recognise that under the new leadership, NorPaper has many new exciting years ahead.”
Julien Lagrèze, Partner at OpenGate’s Paris office, commented, “NorPaper is a reflection of OpenGate’s lower middle market investment strategy and we are proud of all that has been accomplished. From executing a complete carve-out to implementing a multi-faceted operational improvement plan, which included the development of a cooperative paper swap agreement with several European corrugated manufacturers, NorPaper sales and margins greatly improved since acquisition in 2011. Given all that has been accomplished, NorPaper is at the right point in its evolution to be acquired by Gemayel & Chaoui Industriel Group so that it can progress further under new leadership.”
NorPaper’s CEO, Laurent Glachant stated, “I want to thank Julien Lagrèze and his team at OpenGate for all of the support we received that enabled us to achieve the growth and improvements at NorPaper. As we look ahead, we are excited to enter into the next phase of our evolution with Mr Gemayel and his partners.”
