KKR invests €100m in Next Wave's keg maker Petainer

KKR will take a significant minority stake in the company as part of the deal, though Next Wave will remain the majority shareholder.

The deal will enable Petainer to refinance its capital structure, invest in new product development and undertake international expansion.

Previous funding
Next Wave first invested in Petainer in November 2009, when it acquired the company alongside Wheb Ventures and senior company management from Rexam for £16m. At the time of the buyout, Petainer focused on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle manufacturing. It has since increased its product range to include larger containers such as beer kegs and has expanded its operations into new regions.

Next Wave acquired Wheb's stake in March 2014, generating a 2x return for the vendor. Shortly afterwards, Petainer announced a $45m refinancing deal with Qatar investment bank QInvest.

Company
Founded in 1995 and headquartered in London, Petainer manufactures lightweight containers and packaging for the food and drinks industries. The company was founded in Lidköping, Sweden, where it retains a presence, with additional operations in the Czech Republic, Germany, Russia and the US.

Petainer recently announced a new distribution deal with ProStar Distributing for the US market. It also launched an online store to serve the European craft-beer and microbrewery market.

Next Wave said Petainer's EBITDA has trebled under its tenure, while revenues have doubled.

People
KKR – Mark Brown (director).
Next Wave – Jonathan Brod (managing partner); Stephen Walls (partner); Ed Crossman (investment manager).
Petainer – Nigel Pritchard (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy (legal).
Company – Robert W Baird (corporate finance); Macfarlanes (legal); KPMG (financial due diligence).

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Exits
• Expansion
• UK / Ireland
• Industrials
• United Kingdom
• KKR