Nampak to invest R4bn in glass business

JSE-listed packaging company Nampak is to buy out the German partner to its local glass business, and to invest up to R4-billion over the next five or six years in building new glass furnaces in South Africa and elsewhere on the African continent.

Nampak said in a statement last week that it would spend R938-million acquire the 50% stake in its glass business that it did not own from Bayerische Flaschen-Glashuttenwerke Wiegand & Sohne (Wiegand-Glas).

"This acquisition is part of our strategy of investing in our core businesses where we believe we have competitive advantages," said Nampak CEO Andrew Marshall. "As a result, Nampak is looking to grow its glass operations in South Africa and the rest of Africa.

"This will be more easily achieved by us owning 100% of the glass business."

He added that although Wiegand-Glas would no longer be shareholders in the business, they had agreed to remain as the company's technical service provider.

The private German glass making business has been the technical partner to Nampak's glass operations for the past 10 years, having acquired a its 50% stake in the business back in October 2005 for €18-million.

Nampak will fund the acquisition through available cash resources and existing debt facilities.