Greenpac looks to expand to US, Europe with sale to family office Treis

Singapore

HOME-GROWN sustainable packaging company Greenpac has been sold to family office Treis as the company looks to beef up resources as it seeks to expand abroad in the US and Europe.

The transaction, which The Business Times understands to be worth around S$100 million, also involves a merger of Greenpac's sister companies - Salpac and Malaysia-based Sal Packaging - with Greenpac to form a single international group. Treis has acquired full ownership of the group.

"The partnership with Treis brings together two mission-aligned and financially strong parties, giving Greenpac additional resources for international expansion," according to a media statement issued by Greenpac.

The consolidation of the companies creates a vertically-integrated organisation, better productivity and supply chain efficiency, said Greenpac, a former winner of the Enterprise 50 Awards.

Greenpac, which was founded in 2002, is focused on sustainability in packaging, using design and innovation to reduce packaging weight and waste generation. Meanwhile, Salpac is a manufacturer of wooden pallets, boxes and crates, and it uses "industry leading automation technology and robotics" in its manufacturing and operational capabilities.

Greenpac's founder and chief executive Susan Chong, who also co-founded Salpac, will continue to lead Greenpac in the role of group chief executive.

Ms Chong, previously Greenpac's majority owner, said the company has been doing very well, and is continuing to grow in spite of Covid-19. It is now looking for more resources to internationalise in the next phase of growth.

The group currently has operations in Singapore and Malaysia and serves a range of multinational and regional customers in sectors such as medical devices and semiconductors. It plans to expand and open offices in the US and Europe, and expects revenue from newer markets to be around 20 per cent initially. This, according to Ms Chong, could grow to around 40 to 50 per cent over the next four years.

"Sustainable packaging is growing in the US and Europe," she said, adding that clients, mostly multinationals, have been encouraging them to grow overseas for a long time. Prior to this latest deal, getting adequate resources to expand was challenging, she added.

Ms Chong said she chose to work with Treis over other potential buyers as it understood the importance of being sustainable and environmentally friendly, and she was also keen to keep Greenpac as a Singapore company.

Treis is a family-owned investment group, with the family's business originating in France, according to its website. It has a Singapore-registered company, and the group aims to "achieve economic performance whilst preserving and protecting the environment and society". The family office's growth equity portfolio includes investments in Australian clothing rental marketplace GlamCorner, and Ecoalf, a sustainable fashion brand in Spain and Europe.

Treis's investment manager Andy Pang, who has also been appointed as director at Greenpac, said: "This partnership is timely, as we steer the company together, taking advantage of the growth opportunities brought on amidst greater scrutiny on the environmental impact of packaging worldwide."

KPMG acted as financial adviser and Wong Partnership acted as legal adviser to Greenpac. Treis was advised by Bird & Bird ATMD and PwC Singapore.

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