Silgan buying WestRock’s specialty closures and dispensing systems business

Rigid plastic packaging supplier Silgan Holdings Inc. is buying WestRock Co.’s specialty closures and dispensing systems business for about US$1 billion.

WestRock’s closures and dispensing business, which makes soap dispensers and perfume sprayers, has 13 plants in North America, Europe, South America, and Asia, and generated US$566 million in revenue in the year ended Sept. 30.

“This acquisition significantly enhances the scope and breadth of our market leading closure franchise by bringing new capabilities in the highly engineered dispensing systems category,” said Tony Allott, Silgan’s president and CEO. Silgan is headquartered in Stamford, Conn.

Norcross, Ga.-based WestRock said the sale would help it focus more on its core paper and packaging solutions businesses. “Over the past year, we have made several investments that have further enhanced our business portfolio, while exiting others that were not core to our goal of being a premier provider of paper and packaging solutions to our customers,” WestRock CEO Steve Voorhees said in a statement.

The deal is expected to close late in the first quarter of 2017.