Lindsay Goldberg sells Schur Flexibles to trade

Lindsay Goldberg has held a stake in Schur since 2016 and is to retain a 20% stake in the company following the sale, according to a statement.

Unquote sister publication Mergermarket reported in June 2019 that Schur was up for sale and was to be marketed based on EBITDA of €80-97m. However, talks with frontrunner Partners Group collapsed in January 2020, Mergermarket reported, citing two sources who said that EBITDA adjustments were at issue.

In March 2021, Mergermarket reported that the process had been renewed. The report stated that the company had performed well over the course of the coronavirus pandemic, with its meat packaging highlighted as a key growth area due to increased cooking at home.

A source close to the situation told Unquote that the company was marketed this time based on 2020 EBITDA of more than €90m.

According to Unquote Data, the containers and packaging sector has seen 13 buyout deals in 2021 to date, totalling €4.67bn. This surpasses the €2bn generated over 22 transactions in the sector in 2020.

Recent buyouts in the sector include KPS Capital Partners' €2.25bn acquisition of an 80% stake in the EMEA tinplate food and consumer packaging operations of US-headquartered packaging manufacturer Crown, as well as Carlyle's sale of Portugal-based Logoplaste to Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan for €1.4bn.

Previous funding
Capiton acquired a majority stake in Schur Flexibles in November 2011, co-investing with Quilvest Private Equity. Capiton had made five add-ons for the business by the end of 2014, according to Unquote Data.

Lindsay Goldberg acquired Schur in an SBO in July 2016. The company posted 2015 revenues of €370m. Lindsay Goldberg managing partner Thomas Unger subsequently joined Schur's board as chair. At the time, the GP was deploying equity via its $3.5bn vehicle Lindsay Goldberg IV.

Lindsay Goldberg undertook a €300m refinancing and dividend recap for Schur in 2018, according to Unquote sister publication Debtwire. Debtwire reported that the deal was marketed based on pro-forma EBITDA of €68m for the year ending in September 2018, although management-normalised EBITDA for the period was €38.4m. Financing was arranged by Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale.

Goldman Sachs provided a unitranche loan for Schur in October 2020, according to Debtwire.

Schur pursued a buy-and-build strategy under Lindsay Goldberg's ownership. The company acquired Italy-based Sidac in April 2021 from a consortium of investors led by Orienta Partners.

Company
Schur Flexibles was founded in 1864 and is based in Wiener Neudorf. The company produces high-barrier packaging for use in the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries, using plastic, aluminium and film.

Schur reported 2020 turnover of €540m, compared with €370m in 2015. Lindsay Goldberg said in a statement that the company's EBITDA has almost tripled under its ownership. Schur employs 2,100 staff, compared with 1,200 staff at the time of Lindsay Goldberg's investment in 2016.

People
Lindsay Goldberg – Thomas Unger, Michael Dees (managing partners).
Schur Flexibles – Michael Schernthaner (CEO).

Advisers
Vendor – Goldman Sachs (M&A). PwC (financial due diligence, commercial due diligence); EY (tax); Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (legal).

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• Topics
• Exits
• DACH
• Industrials
• Austria
• Trade sale
• Partial sale