O-I Expands Presence in China and Southeast Asia
May 24, 2010
The acquisition
provides O-I entry into the Vietnamese and Malaysian markets.
Glass packaging manufacturer Owens-Illinois, Inc. (O-I) has joined with Thailand's Berli Jucker Public Co. Ltd. (BJC) to
expand O-I's presence in China
and Southeast Asia. The O-I and BJC joint
venture has entered into an agreement to purchase Fraser & Neave Holdings
Bhd.'s Malaya Glass operations, which include plants in Sichuan
Province, China;
Saraburi Province, Thailand;
Johor Bahru, Malaysia;
and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The four Malaya Glass
plants employ approximately 1900 people and produce containers for the beer,
nonalcoholic beverage, and food markets. Malaya Glass’ fiscal 2009 sales were
$126 million.
In the transaction, the O-I and BJC joint venture purchased Malaya Glass for
$221.7 million, after consideration of debt and minority interests. O-I's
portion of the purchase price was $132.4 million. Following the acquisition,
the operations in Malaysia
and Vietnam
will be operated by a 50-50 joint venture between O-I and BJC. The acquired
interest in the Chinese plant will be managed as part of O-I China's existing
operations. BJC will assume majority ownership of the Thai operation.
"This acquisition is aligned with our strategic objectives to seek a
leadership position in China
and Southeast Asia," said Al Stroucken,
O-I’s chairman and CEO. "The plant in Sichuan
expands our presence in China,
and the joint venture offers us an instant competitive position in the
important growing markets of Vietnam
and Malaysia.
We expect to see an immediate positive impact on our earnings as a result of
this acquisition."
"BJC is focusing our regional expansion in Southeast Asia, in
particular Indochina and Malaysia,"
said Aswin Techajareonvikul, president of BJC. "The acquisition will
further strengthen our foothold in Vietnam
and Malaysia,
where we today have established trading and manufacturing operations in
industrial and consumer products. This is a major milestone in expanding BJC's
operation in Southeast Asia."
O-I and BJC have a long history of successful collaboration. BJC licenses
O-I's proprietary technology in its Thai Glass operations.
O-I Asia Pacific President Greg Ridder said the purchase of Malaya Glass
complemented existing regional capabilities and provided customers access to an
expanded footprint and leading glassmaking technologies.
"We are excited about the new opportunities this creates for customers,"
said Ridder. "We can boost the productivity and quality at these well-run
operations by applying O-I's technology and know-how, and this will enhance the
breadth of offerings we provide in the region. New and existing customers will benefit
from this expansion."
O-I has previously announced plans to grow through strategic acquisitions
and joint ventures in regions with rapidly growing markets. In March, the
company announced its entrance into the Argentinean market with the acquisition
of a majority share in Cristalerias Rosario.
Visit www.o-i.com for more
information.
Links