Member Article

Grant Thornton advises Berry Global sale of Strata Products to Chiltern Capital

A Corporate finance team from Grant Thornton UK LLP has advised on the corporate carve out and sale of Strata Products, a leading UK manufacturer and distributor of fully recyclable plastic products for home, office and garden markets, to its management team backed by Chiltern Capital. 
 
Formerly owned by Berry Global Inc, a Fortune 500 manufacturer and distributor of plastic packaging products with its UK headquarters in Northamptonshire, Strata has an established reputation with over 300 major retailers in the UK and overseas.  
 
It stands out for its comprehensive plastic manufacturing capabilities, including injection, rotational, and blow moulding, allowing it to regularly update and extend its product ranges to incorporate new features and designs. Strata had successfully grown over the years through continued investment in plant & machinery as well as strategic acquisitions.  
 
Having decided that Strata was no longer a core part of its current strategy, Berry engaged Grant Thornton to manage a disposal process for the business. 
 
The Grant Thornton team in the East of England worked closely with Strata management and Berry to understand their requirements from a transaction.  Leveraging Grant Thornton’s deep market knowledge and wide network, the team ran a focussed transaction process delivering a number of attractive offers. 
 
The team project managed the entire sale process, leading negotiations and managing the due diligence and legal process in order to minimise disruption to the business and deliver a successful completion for all stakeholders. 
 
The management buyout was led by Jay Ilsen CEO, Jay Ilsen, who commented: “Strata has a proven history of manufacturing high quality innovative plastic products, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with our trusted customer base. With Chiltern’s support, we will drive growth in the UK through new product development, as well as continuing our expansion in Europe and North America.” 
 
Mike Tillson, Partner at Grant Thornton, added: “This transaction has delivered a great outcome for all parties.  Strata is now well placed to continue its growth in partnership with Chiltern.  This deal demonstrates the continuing appetite from buyers and investors for well managed mid-market businesses, and we wish Jay and his team all the success for the future.” 

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by John Robson .