Ecopol S.p.A. (“Ecopol” or the “Company”), a leading developer and producer of innovative biodegradable films and delivery systems, announced today the completion of a strategic investment from affiliates of SK Capital Partners, LP (“SK Capital”), a leading private investment firm focused on the specialty materials, ingredients, and life sciences sectors. SK Capital has acquired a majority interest in the Company with Mauro Carbone, Ecopol’s CEO and controlling shareholder, retaining a significant stake and remaining as both the CEO and largest individual shareholder. It is also announced the formation of a new Board of Directors, which includes industry leaders with extensive experience across sustainable materials and consumer packaged goods (“CPG”) markets in Ecopol’s value chains, including Jan-Dirk Auris, E. Craig Mitchell, Daniele Ferrari and Dave Mezzanotte.
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“Ecopol is pleased to begin our partnership with SK Capital and to be working with a diverse team of high-impact industry executives who have joined our Board of Directors,” said Mauro Carbone, Ecopol CEO. “I am excited for the next chapter of our journey as we work together to accelerate Ecopol’s rapid growth and continue to make strategic investments to provide even greater value for our global customer base and bring more sustainable solutions to both existing and new markets. We are grateful to Roberto Quagliuolo, Luca Bucelli and Laurent Labatut for their contributions as former Board Directors and look forward to Tikehau Capital’s continued support as an ongoing minority shareholder.”
“In partnership with Mauro, we have assembled a world-class Board of Directors who will be highly impactful in helping Ecopol execute its strategic priorities and achieve its vision to become the global leader in highly innovative and sustainable delivery systems,” added Stephen D’Incelli, Managing Director at SK Capital. “We look forward as a Board to supporting Mauro and his leadership team in driving Ecopol’s next phase of transformational growth.”
In connection with the closing, SK Capital and Mauro have appointed the following Board Directors:
Jan-Dirk Auris spent over 35 years at Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (“Henkel”), where he served in a variety of senior executive roles and as a member of the Henkel Management Board. He most recently led Henkel’s Adhesives Technologies business unit, where he had extensive experience serving leading global CPG companies. Mr. Auris played a leading role in implementing a new performance management playbook across Henkel and driving innovation and sustainability initiatives.
E. Craig Mitchell has over 35 years of experience in the specialty materials industry and currently serves as President, Flavors and Extracts Group at Sensient Technologies Corporation. He previously served in critical roles at global leaders in Ecopol’s supply chain, including President and COO of Sekisui Specialty Chemicals America, LLC, a manufacturer of polyvinyl alcohol, as well as VP of Sales, Americas of Celanese Corporation, a producer of vinyl acetate monomer.
Daniele Ferrari will serve as Board Chairman. Mr. Ferrari, who is based full-time in Italy, has over 35 years of experience in the specialty materials industry, most recently as the CEO of Versalis S.p.A., the largest chemical company in Italy, and as Chairman of Matrìca S.p.A., a joint-venture with Novamont, a leader in the bio-plastics industry at the forefront of renewable chemistry. Mr. Ferrari has served as a Senior Director at SK Capital and brings significant sustainability leadership in prior roles as President of the European Chemical Industry Council (“CEFIC”), President of Plastics Europe, and as a board member of the Alliance to End Plastics Waste.
Dave Mezzanotte has over 40 years of experience in the specialty materials and packaging industries and has served as a Senior Director at SK Capital since 2018. He previously was Chairman and CEO of Coveris, a global manufacturer of flexible consumer packaging, and CEO of CHEP, a global logistics services provider for CPGs.
The Board of Directors also includes Mauro Carbone, Ecopol CEO and significant minority investor; Stephen d’Incelli, Deal Lead and Managing Director at SK Capital; and Josh Lieberman, Principal at SK Capital.
Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal counsel to SK Capital. Lead arrangers and bookrunners Crédit Agricole Italia S.p.A. and Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A provided committed financing in support of the transaction. Legance and Alpeggiani Studio Legale Associato served as legal counsel and STS Deloitte served as tax advisor to Ecopol. UBS served as financial advisor.
About Ecopol
Ecopol is a leading global producer of water-soluble and biodegradable films. The Company’s innovative delivery systems for unit-dose applications allow the world’s leading brands to significantly reduce CO2 emissions and the usage of water and virgin plastic throughout their supply chains. Headquartered in Chiesina Uzzanese, Tuscany, Ecopol operates production campuses in Italy and the United States, providing the highest levels of service, technical support and innovation partnership to its worldwide customer base. For more information, please visit www.ecopol.com.
About SK Capital
SK Capital is a private investment firm with a disciplined focus on the specialty materials, ingredients and life sciences sectors. The firm seeks to build resilient, sustainable and growing businesses that create substantial long-term economic value. SK Capital aims to utilize its industry, operating and investment experience to identify opportunities to transform businesses into higher performing organizations with improved strategic positioning, growth and profitability, as well as lower operating risk. SK Capital’s portfolio of businesses generates revenues of approximately $17 billion annually, employs more than 25,000 people globally, and operates more than 200 plants in over 30 countries. The firm currently has approximately $7.8 billion in assets under management. For more information, please visit www.skcapitalpartners.com.
About Tikehau Capital
Tikehau Capital is a global alternative asset management group with €41.1 billion of assets under management (as of 30 June 2023). Tikehau Capital has developed a wide range of expertise across four asset classes (private debt, real assets, private equity and capital markets strategies) as well as multi-asset and special opportunities strategies. Leveraging its strong equity base (€3.1 billion of shareholders’ equity as of 30 June 2023), the firm invests its own capital alongside its investor-clients within each of its strategies. Controlled by its managers alongside leading institutional partners, Tikehau Capital is guided by a strong entrepreneurial spirit and DNA, shared by its 742 employees (as of 30 June 2023) across its 15 offices in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America. Tikehau Capital is listed in compartment A of the regulated Euronext Paris market (ISIN code: FR0013230612; Ticker: TKO.FP). For more information, please visit www.tikehaucapital.com.
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