Portola Packaging (Batavia, IL), which continued operations through chapter 11 bankruptcy organization, has eliminated $180 million in debt from its balance sheet and now describes itself as “one of the most financially sound suppliers in the market,” according to Brian Bauerbach, Portola’s CEO. As part of the restructuring, Portola converted debt into equity, shifting all of its 8.25% senior notes into shares of the company. In addition, the company secured financing, with funds managed by Wayzata Investment constituting its majority shareholder, and lending partners like Wells Fargo Foothill providing a senior loan facility for the company.
Portola injection molds tamper-evident closures for non-carbonated beverage products, and it blowmolds and creates tooling for a variety of plastic bottles for use in dairy, water, and juice applications. The company has five manufacturing and distribution sites in the U.S., with an additional nine facilities globally, spread among Canada, Mexico, England, the Czech Republic, Russia, New Zealand, and China.
