Latest news with #One51
Irish Times
01-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
IPL Plastics now a far cry from its One51 days
The news that IPL Plastics plans to merge with Dutch firm Schoeller Allibert is one of the more notable deals for an Irish company in 2025, and comes almost a 15 years after one of the biggest Irish corporate spats of the crash when the then chief executive of what was at the time called One51 faced down an attempted rebellion. The deal, which will create a company with an estimated value of $1.7 billion, will mean IPL chief executive Alan Walsh leads the enlarged company, and comes after private equity firm Madison Dearborn hired bankers to run a sales process. The US firm had taken over IPL Plastics in 2020. Spun out of the old IAWS , IPL's predecessor company, One51, had a short but controversial life. It was, in essence, the rump of IAWS after that company merged with Switzerland's Hiestand to create Aryzta in 2007. 100 days of Trump: 'It's like The Karate Kid, tax on, tax off, tariffs on, tariffs off' Listen | 42:49 Philip Lynch, a hugely influential figure in Irish business at that time, led One51 which was an investment company with stakes in Irish Pride Bakeries, Irish Continental Group and NTR among others, with Protech Plastics following a year later. READ MORE At that stage, its share register included a veritable who's who of Irish business. But, as the financial crisis took hold, things turned sour. In 2010, Gerry Killen led the 'Campaign for Change at One51', calling for an overhaul of the firm's operations and the addition of new board members. At a raucous shareholder meeting in July that year, things came to a head. [ Gloves are off in One51 corporate spat Opens in new window ] In the end, none of the campaign's nominees to the board were elected, yet a year later, Lynch was removed as chief executive amid a plunging share price and controversy over his €1.4 million pay packet. Mr Walsh, then chief financial officer, was named to the top job and has remained in place since. [ Philip Lynch dismissed by investment group One51 Opens in new window ] It is notable that IPL Plastics – it took the new name in 2018 to reflect its pivot fully to that industry – has recovered from that nadir and grown to the scale it has in the years since. However, Aryzta – something of the star performer – hit stormy waters itself. At the time Lynch was removed, Aryzta appeared to be going from strength to strength. In the years since, it has cycled through chief executives and seen its market capitalisation plunge by more than two-thirds, even with a strong recovery in recent months. In business, nothing ever stays the same.
Irish Independent
30-04-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Dublin-based plastics firm IPL and Dutch peer to merge
IPL makes customised plastic packaging and rigid containers for food, consumer, agriculture, automotive, logistics and environmental markets, mainly in North America. It generated revenue of $822m last year and has significant manufacturing operations in the UK. It employs about 2,500 people across 16 manufacturing sites. Schoeller Allibert, which has about 1,600 employees, makes returnable transport packaging and provides related services. Its customers are primarily in sectors such as beverages, food, automotive, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, retail and material handling. They're based mainly in continental Europe. The company generated revenue of $550m last year. IPL is owned by investment funds managed by US-based private equity giant Madison Dearborn Partners, and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ). Schoeller Allibert is owned by Brookfield Asset Management's private equity business and the Schoeller family. The new company will be 55pc-owned by the existing IPL shareholders and 45pc-owned by the existing Schoeller Allibert shareholders. The merged group will be based in Dublin and be headed by IPL chief executive Alan Walsh. 'The future of packaging lies in sustainability, innovation and adaptability,' he said. 'This merger will allow IPL and Schoeller Allibert to combine our strengths on both sides of the Atlantic to meet that future together.' IPL was formerly known as One51. It was sold for €354m to Madison Dearborn in 2020, having listed on the Toronto stock exchange in 2018. ADVERTISEMENT At the time, its shareholders included about 2,000 individual farmers and investors, as well as agricultural co-ops including Kerry, Glanbia, Lakeland and Dairygold. They had held stock in the company since it was spun out of IAWS as One51. One51 emerged out of the IAWS group of companies as an investment firm but entered the plastics business in 2006 when it acquired Protech Plastics. Its €200m purchase of a 67pc stake in Canadian firm IPL in July 2015 was transformational, shifting it from a mixed investment vehicle to a straightforward plastics company. In 2017, CDPQ and a number of other large IPL shareholders swapped their shares in the Canadian company for shares in One51, which changed its name to IPL Plastics. Businessman Dermot Desmond sold his almost 23pc stake to CDPQ the same year in a deal valued at the time at around €65m.
