Western NIS Enterprise Fund Sold Leading Moldovan Glass Packaging Platform to Vetropack Group.
In particular, Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF) sold, alongside other shareholders, its stake in Moldova-based Glass Container Company and Glass Container Prim (the “Glass Container Companies”, “GCC”) to Vetropack Austria Holding AG, a subsidiary of Vetropack Holding SA (SWX:VETN). WNISEF representatives told InfoMarket that Vetropack is a leading Swiss player in the European packaging industry, operating facilities in Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Ukraine, and Italy, with CHF 714.9 million in 2019 revenues. WNISEF, capitalized with a $150 million grant from the U.S. Government via the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), was created in 1994 to support the development of small and medium-sized private enterprises in Moldova and Ukraine by providing equity, debt, and grants. Horizon Capital, a leading regional private equity firm with over $850 million in assets under management via 4 funds, including the WNISEF investment portfolio, has led value-creation at Glass Container Companies and this exit process. The Glass Container Companies, which export circa 2/3 of its production, have grown to become the largest glass packaging manufacturing platform in Moldova with strong market positions across food and beverage product categories in Moldova, Romania and CEE, and are privileged suppliers to leading European wine, beer, spirits, bottled water, and packaged food producers. GCC’s ambitious growth and production expansion have been backed by European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank via Mobiasbanca OTP Group, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, Moldova Agroindbank, International Finance Corporation and VR Capital. // 11.12.2020 - InfoMarket.