IMA closes acquisition of Sympak dairy pack business

In October last year, the Italian machinery company announced its intention to buy the dairy and convenience food business of Sympak for a total price of €57.5m.

Yesterday IMA revealed that the deal had been completed and that the firm would also be buying Sympak’s chocolate and confectionary business for €6.5m.

Vivacious sector ​

IMA managing director, Alberto Vacchi, said: “We have successfully completed the important deal that we announced on 14 October of last year.”​

Vacchi added that the early signs are good at the newly acquired business. “After the last few months of interim management together with the Sympak Corazza Group, we are very pleased to see how vivacious this sector is.”​

The business covers packaging machinery for cheese and butter products as well as convenience foods including stock cubes, ketchup, mayonnaise and baby food.

According to Italian-based IMA, the Sympak business and its subsidiaries Stephan and RC command a 70 per cent share of these markets. They operate from production sites in Italy and Germany.

Niche food focus ​

The decision to purchase the dairy and convenience food business is part of a broader strategy to expand into niche food packaging markets.

When the acquisition was announced in October, Vacchi said the deal “forms an integral part of our strategy of targeted acquisitions to enlarge the range of machines designed and produced by our group for the niche food industry”.​

It is this strategy that has informed the decision to acquire the chocolate and confectionary arm of Sympak.