RPC Group share price: what happened to one of Europe's largest plastic packaging suppliers
07:31, 8 October 2019
What is RPC Group?
RPC Group plc used to be an independent UK-based company engaged in the design and manufacture of plastic products for the packaging and non-packaging markets. With annual revenue of over £3.74 billion in 2018, it was one of Europe's largest suppliers of rigid plastic packaging. The company served a comprehensive range of customers, from the smallest local businesses to the largest European manufacturers of consumer products. It had particularly strong positions in the margarine industry, the personal care and beauty sector, the vending and drinking cup market, as well as in multilayer packages for oxygen sensitive food products. The business had established strategic partnerships with the world-renowned brands, including McVitie's, Heinz Tomato Ketchup, Hubba Bubba, Jacob's, L'Oréal, Nivea and Saxa.
The company was founded in 1993, with headquarters in Rushden, UK. In the same year, the RPC Group shares were first listed on the London Stock Exchange.
The business had a decades-long history of expanding through various acquisitions, boasting of its ability to integrate and manage new operations. At the end of 2018, RPC Group run 188 manufacturing sites in over 33 countries worldwide, employing more than 24,000 people.
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What happened to RPC Group in 2019?
On 8 March 2019, British packager RPC Group plc announced that it had agreed to be taken over by Berry Global Group Inc, a global manufacturer and marketer of plastic packaging products included in the Fortune 500 list. RPC Group had previously turned down an offer made by Apollo Global Management LLC in January. Berry Global is known as a powerhouse in plastics processing in the US. Beginning in 1988, it has completed over 40 acquisitions. In October 2012, the Berry shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BERY.
On July 1, 2019, the acquisition was completed. Berry Global Group Inc has paid a total of £5.15 billion for the purchase. The acquisition included about $4.3 billion of cash paid for the equity interest in RPC and $2.2 of net debt and estimated transaction costs.
The combined business now has over 290 locations worldwide and employs over 48,000 people across the globe. Based on the latest published financial statements of RPC and Berry, the total number of the companies' sales is about $13 billion. The Berry’s representatives said the deal is expected to create one of the world's largest plastic packaging companies.
What the RPC Group share price chart looks like?
According to the latest RPC share news, the company's shares stopped trading in June 2019 due to the following acquisition. Here is what its historical chart looked like on 1 July:
On 4 December 2016, the RPC shares traded to an all-time high of £1.003. Throughout the next couple of years, the company’s stock saw several ups and downs, eventually establishing itself at the annual average of 790p.
What was the RPC share price forecast?
Before the company was purchased by Berry Global, many investors and analysts were involved in the RPC share price predicting. Based on various sources, the price target for 2019 was set around 880p. In the most optimistic prognosis, the RPC stock was set to trade at £1.13.
Some were calling it a rather sound investment, predicting a possible upside of 11.1% from the stock's current price at the time. Others were more sceptical about the company’s future, predicting its price to fall to 782p. These were some of the analysts’ bets on the RPC share price forecast:
However, all of these were called off after the acquisition took place. For example, on 23 July 2019, Moody's Investors Service withdrew the Baa3 issuer rating and outlook of RPC Group due to the company's reorganisation. Before it happened, the shares were under review for downgrade.
According to Wallet Investor, the RPC share price forecast did not look optimistic as well. The online service called it a potentially “bad, high-risk 1-year investment option.”
The bottom line
It may be quite disappointing that the RPC shares are not available for trading anymore and RPC share price news have seen no updates in the past two months. However, one can still invest in the company as a part of Berry Global Group Inc. Moreover, you can start trading BERY contracts for difference in order to try to profit from the future price movements. To learn more about CFD trading, check out our free online courses and trading guide.
Stay up-to-date with the Berry Global Group Inc. latest news and keep track of the prices live with the comprehensive charts on Capital.com.
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