By Don Loepp
EDITOR
Published: August 25, 2014 11:36 am ET
Updated: August 25, 2014 11:39 am ET
Private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners plans to buy rigid packaging distributor Berlin Packaging LLC for $1.43 billion.
Berlin Packaging is based in Chicago and was founded in 1898. The company has more than 90 North American sales and warehouse locations. It supplies plastic, metal and glass containers and closures.
The current majority owner of Berlin is investment management firm Investcorp of Manama, Bahrain. Kevin Nickelberry, managing director at Investcorp, said that under his firm’s ownership in the past seven years, Berlin Packaging has improved its profitability and executed several acquisitions.
New York-based Oak Hill said Berlin’s current management team, including Chairman and CEO Andrew Berlin, will invest in Berlin Packaging. The deal is scheduled to close in the third quarter.
Brian Cherry, partner at Oak Hill, called Berlin Packaging “a juggernaut that already grows multiple times faster than the packaging industry.”
Berlin Packaging’s services include design, worldwide sourcing, warehousing and logistics, and capital financing. | 
