Alcan sells lab equipment unit to focus on packaging biz
business to private equity company River Associates Investments in
order to focus on its core competencies.
The packaging provider said it would sell its Wheaton Science Products unit to the Tennessee-based company in a deal expected to be completed by the end of the month.
However the firm refused to disclose the details of the transaction.
"Alcan Global Pharmaceutical Packaging is focusing resources on its primary pharmaceutical and medical packaging portfolios," said Michael Rubenstein, president of Alcan Global Pharmaceutical Packaging.
"The Company is moving strategically to grow its business in markets where it already holds substantial scale and leadership positions."
Indeed, the firm has chosen to focus on a lucrative market as just in the US, the market for pharmaceutical packaging is expected to grow by nearly a third between 2004 and 2011, driven by the increasing demands placed on packaging by biologic drugs and novel drug delivery formulations, according to consulting firm Frost & Sullivan (F&S).
A recently-published report from F&S suggests that the market will swell from $2.6bn (€2bn) in 2004 to just under $3.4 billion in 2011 as the role of pharmaceutical packaging shifts from a passive to an active one, making a contribution to effective drug delivery.
Also as part of the transaction, Alcan has entered into a long term, exclusive supply agreement to continue providing Wheaton Science Products with pharmaceutical grade glass tubing, vials, ampoules, and plastic containers and closures, the firm said.
The unit, which employs approximately 225 people, specialises in the production and distribution of apparatus and equipment for scientific laboratories, and recorded sales of approximately $50m last year.
