Ex-Quinn plastics firm to be snapped up by Swiss giant for €48m

Manufacturer formerly owned by the Quinn Group changes hands again

PLASTICS business Athlone Extrusions is to be sold to a Swiss buyer for €48m.

Schweiter Technologies, which is listed in Switzerland, has agreed to buy the company, saying Athlone’s products would “ideally complement” its own range.

The deal is expected to be complete by the end of the month, Schweiter said in a statement.

“Athlone Extrusions has one of the largest-scale production sites in Europe. It has a very experienced sales team, with local representatives based in several European countries and a total workforce of 175,” it added.

Athlone had sales of around €62m in 2016. Founded in 1971, the company has had multiple changes of ownership. In February, this newspaper revealed that the business was in talks with a potential buyer. Athlone was advised on the sale by IBI Corporate Finance.

It was floated on the Irish Stock Exchange in the late 1990s, before being bought by the Barlo group. Sean Quinn’s Quinn Group later bought Barlo and then Athlone’s management bought the business from Quinn in 2004.

It manufactures plastic sheets, which are used in the manufacture of vehicles, shower trays and bath pan- els, office equipment and furniture.

The deal will see a pay day for shareholders, including James McGee, the chief executive who was nominated in the International category of EY’s ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ competition last year.

In the year ending September 30, 2014, the company completed a restructuring of its balance sheet, with the support of shareholders and lenders, which saw its debt slashed from around €53m to around €28m.

That year, the group also wound up its defined benefit pension scheme.

Schweiter has a market capitalisation of more than €1.6bn and the Athlone deal comes as it sells its textile machinery-making division for around €100m, leaving it to focus on its so-called ‘3A Composites’ division, which makes plastics and other building materials.

The division has been sold to another Swiss firm called Rieter. “Schweiter Technologies is convinced that the sale of this business to Rieter makes good industrial sense, the company said.

Athlone will now sit in the 3A Composites division. “The acquired business will gain strength and improved market position through access to the wider 3A Composites network of production plants and personnel across Europe,” Schweiter said.