EU clears Saica’s Thimm acquisition across four countries
Key takeaways
- The EC has approved Saica Group’s acquisition of Thimm under the EU merger review procedure, finding no competition concerns.
- The transaction expands Saica’s operations across Germany, Poland, Czechia, and Romania, adding production facilities and approximately 2,500 employees.
- Saica expects the acquisition to increase its corrugated cardboard production capacity by 1.2 million square meters and strengthen its Central and Eastern European presence.
(Image credit: Saica Group).The European Commission (EC) has approved Saica Group’s full acquisition of Thimm, a corrugated cardboard packaging producer based in Northeim, Germany, under the EU Merger Regulation.
As part of the acquisition, Saica will gain ownership of nine factories in four countries, including four in Germany, two in Poland, one in Czechia, and one in Romania. The Spanish paper packaging provider will also take over Thimm’s preprint facility in Ilsenburg, Germany.
“The EC concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given the companies' limited market positions resulting from the proposed transaction. The notified transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure,” states the EU executive body.
Growing global presence
Saica indicates that the acquisition will increase its corrugated cardboard production capacity by 1,200 million square meters, and it will gain approximately 2,500 employees.
Overall, Saica employs more than 14,500 people and has a presence in 13 countries: Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, the UK, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, the US, Germany, Czechia, and Romania.
“We are happy to integrate Thimm’s team within Saica, its knowledge and skills are appreciated in the sector. At Saica Group, people make the difference: they are what drives our organization,” comments Susana Alejandro, president and CEO of Saica.
“This operation is an important milestone for us, it is a step forward in Saica’s business growth strategy with the aim of further developing our infrastructure and services in Central and Eastern Europe. It is part of the development plans of the company defined by Saica 2025, the strategic plan of the company.”
Last year, Saica commenced the construction of its second US corrugated packaging facility in Anderson, Indiana, with an investment of over US$110 million, and committed €7.1 million (US$7.7 million) to update the machinery at Saica Flex, its UK flexible packaging facility.
More recently, Saica supplied Unilever with a paper grouping band for its Axe deodorant duopacks to replace the former plastic shrink film.
In other related news, International Paper recently expanded its US packaging capacity with its acquisition of Delmarva Corrugated, and Smurfit Westrock acquired Cartomanabí, a corrugated packaging company in Ecuador, marking an expansion in Latin America.
