U.S., Dec. 19 -- Huhtamaki has completed the acquisition of the majority of the business of Everest Flexibles, a privately-owned flexible packaging manufacturer in South Africa.

The annual net sales of the acquired business is approximately E40mn and it employs altogether approximately 460 people.

The business was acquired for an enterprise value of E58mn. The deal was paid partly in cash and partly in shares, as the sellers of Everest entered into a joint venture also with Huhtamaki's Flexible Packaging, Foodservice and Fiber Packaging operations in South Africa.

As a result, the sellers of Everest now own 30% of all Huhtamaki's activities in South Africa. The joint venture structure allows Huhtamaki to improve its B-BBEE (Broad-based...