Sonoco Products has completed its EUR3.6 billion (USD3.9bn) acquisition of Eviosys, Europe’s leading food can, end and closures manufacturer.

US private equity group KPS Capital Partners agreed to sell Eviosys to Sonoco Products in June, three years after it created the canmaker by buying a majority stake from Crown Holdings in EMEA.

Eviosys said its customers will benefit from a strengthened supply chain under new ownership, thanks to US-based Sonoco’s expanded global network, while both companies will be able to “combine expertise and resources to strengthen their sustainability initiatives”. 

The Eviosys acquisition, which closed at the beginning of December, will create a leading global manufacturer of metal food and aerosol cans. 

Combined with the food and aerosol can businesses in North America that Sonoco acquired from Ball at the end of 2021, the South Carolina-based  company, which originally built its business on paper packaging for industrial and consumer applications, becomes a force in the canmaking industry.

The US operations comprised eight plants that had benefitted from USD100m of investment since Ball spun them off in 2018. These will represent the North American arm of Sonoco’s metal packaging and complement almost 50 plants in more than 17 countries run by Eviosys.

Eviosys will have its branding changed to Sonoco over the coming months and will operate under Sonoco’s Consumer Packaging segment. The business will continue to be led by Tomás López, chief executive of Eviosys, and the former head of Mivisa, the Spanish canmaker that contributed a large footprint to its network when part of Crown Holdings. Crown will receive USD300m in cash for the 20% share it retained in Eviosys.

“Today marks a new chapter for Eviosys as we join the Sonoco family,” López said. “Being part of Sonoco will allow us to extend our innovative packaging solutions and world-class manufacturing quality to a broader market. We remain dedicated to our customers’ success and are excited to build on this foundation as we continue striving for excellence.”

Howard Coker, chief executive of Sonoco, added: “This combination creates a global leader in metal packaging, and we are excited to begin executing our integration plans and welcome the incredibly talented team at Eviosys. We see new and significant opportunities to unlock additional capabilities and end-markets in this larger, scaled business and look forward to investing in our combined product platform as we meet the growing demand for innovative solutions from our customers.”

Sonoco previously told investors its “total addressable market in metal packaging” would be worth USD25bn globally with the Eviosys deal.

The US company estimates Eviosys’ sales in 2024 will be “approximately USD2.5 billion and its 2024 adjusted EBITDA will be approximately USD430 million”. It said the company had increased earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) “by approximately 50% since 2021”.