Sonoco acquiring thermoformer Peninsula Packaging for $230 million

In a move designed to nearly double its thermoforming operations, packaging supplier Sonoco Products Company is acquiring thermoformer Peninsula Packaging Company LLC for US$230 million.

Exeter, Calif.-based Peninsula, which is owned by a fund managed by Odyssey Investment Partners, LLC, manufactures thermoformed packaging for fresh fruit and vegetables sold in supermarkets. The company operates five manufacturing plants – four in the U.S. and one in Mexico.

The transaction is expected to close by the second quarter of 2017.

“Our goal has been to strategically expand our consumer packaging portfolio to grow our offerings in both the center of the store and the fast-growing perimeter,” said Sonoco president and CEO Jack Sanders in a statement. “With the addition of Peninsula, Sonoco will nearly double its thermoforming packaging capabilities and occupy a strong packaging position serving the perimeter in fresh food products, combined with our existing offerings in the center of the store, including those serving a range of frozen and shelf-stable foods.”

The statement describes Peninsula as the largest consumer of recycled drink bottles used for packing in the U.S., and also said that Peninsula used more than 3 billion recycled 20-ounce water bottles to produce its various food packaging products in 2012.

Sonoco is headquartered in Hartsville, S.C.