Alcoa bows out of plastics packaging

Aluminum giant Alcoa will exit packaging with the sale of its packaging and consumer businesses to New Zealand’s Rank Group Ltd. for $2.7 billion in cash. The businesses, which generated $3.2 billion in revenue in 2006, accounted for 10% of Alcoa’s total revenue and 3% of its after-tax income. Included in the sale are Closure Systems International, which compression and injection molds plastic and aluminum closure for beverage, food, and personal-care applications; Consumer Products, which includes Reynolds Wrap foil, wraps, and bags; and Flexible Packaging, which makes laminated, printed, and extruded films for pouches, blister packaging, shrink labels, and foil lidding. These units employ 10,000 spread among 22 countries, with 29 sites in the U.S. alone. Rank’s businesses include several in packaging, with portfolio companies like Carter Holt Harvey, SIG Holding, and Evergreen Packaging.—[email protected]