Clearwater advises Graphic West International on its sale to CCL Industries

Transaction

Blue Equity sold Graphic West International ApS to CCL Industries Inc.

Sell-side

Undisclosed

Role

Adviser to Blue Equity and Jesper Holm on the sale of Graphic West International to CCL Industries

Sector

Healthcare
Industrial & Chemicals

Region

Denmark

Clearwater has advised founder and CEO, Jesper Holm, on the sale of manufacturer and supplier of folded cardboard packaging, Graphic West International ApS (GWI) to global packaging company, CCL Industries Inc. (CCL). The transaction delivered a successful exit for private equity firm Blue Equity, which owned a minority share of the business.

GWI is a market-leading digital pioneer of printed cardboard-based secondary packaging to the global pharmaceutical and medical device sector. The Company has a global customer base that is managed from its headquarters in Denmark, and its manufacturing operations in Poland and USA.

As a global speciality packaging pioneer, CCL is one of the largest specialist label, security and packaging solutions companies in the world and provides innovative solutions to the home and personal care, premium food and beverage, healthcare and speciality, automotive and durables, and consumer markets worldwide.

The acquisition of GWI will allow CCL to strengthen its offering within the secondary packaging market specialising in the healthcare industry by adding carton and technological capabilities to its well-positioned global label division.

Clearwater has assisted us in finding the right partner for Graphic West International. Together with CCL Industries, we are convinced that GWI’s unique business model and technological competencies can be extended to many global healthcare players. Throughout the process, the Clearwater deal team remained very "hands-on" and even during such a turbulent period involving COVID-19, the team were able to keep the process moving forward and keep the buyer field continuously interested. The team's strategic understanding of GWI, combined with their insight into the market and the potential investors, enabled them to position GWI in the best possible light and highlight synergies, opportunities and value for each of the potential strategic buyers. Clearwater identified strong potential investors and created competitive tension in the bidding process to ensure the best outcome for the shareholders. Clearwater has proven to be a strong partner when it comes to complex processes within the international buyer field and we have been very satisfied with the collaboration.
Peter Arndrup Poulsen, Director of Operations, Blue Equity

Throughout the process, the Clearwater team ensured a productive dialogue with the relevant buyers. The team’s ability to quickly clarify questions and resolve issues enabled them to constantly draw the buyers closer. During negotiations, it created great value to have them act as spearheads and put pressure on the buyers so that the future partnership between us and the buyer would not be affected.
Jesper Holm, founder and CEO, Graphic West International

We are proud to have assisted the owners of Graphic West International, a pioneer within the secondary packaging market in finding the right partner in CCL Industries, a global leading label and packaging company. With GWI’s COVID-19 resilient business model, as supplier to the healthcare industry, it was possible to run a very competitive process with interest from several interested buyers. GWI is yet another example of the large interest in healthcare exposed companies, as they provide stability and security in a period where other selected segments are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic..
Carsten Rydahl, Partner, Clearwater