Transformative Transaction for Wildpack's Brokerage Operations
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- Located in the key strategic North Central region in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Land and Sea Packaging is strongly aligned with Wildpack's business plan.
- Land and Sea generated LTM Revenue of US$21,886,000 and LTM EBITDA of US$4,670,000.
- History of profitable operations for 20+ years.
- Acquisition achieves Wildpack's 2021 growth strategy of 6 facilities ahead of schedule.
- Land and Sea brokers approximately 90 million cans annually, with a diverse client base across 15 U.S. states.
- Key leaders aligned with long-term employment contracts and a seat on Wildpack's board of directors.
VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 1, 2021 /CNW/ - Wildpack Beverage Inc. (TSXV: CANS) ("Wildpack" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a binding agreement dated November 1, 2021 (the "Agreement") to acquire, through a wholly owned subsidiary Wildpack Holdings US Inc. ("Wildpack US"), all of the issued and outstanding securities of KT Murray Corporation, dba Land and Sea Packaging ("Land and Sea"), an established high-volume aluminum can brokering business based in Grand Rapids, Michigan for cash consideration of US$26.1 million and common shares of Wildpack ("Common Shares") with an aggregate value of approximately US$11.2 million, subject to certain adjustments and holdbacks (the "Acquisition").
The transaction delivers on Wildpack's strategic goal of acquiring or building six facilities by the end of 2021. Land and Sea operates in the North Central region, which offers distribution coverage to a key strategic area with no overlap on the current network of Wildpack's facilities. A leader in the rigid packaging business, Land and Sea complements Wildpack's existing operations in the areas of brokerage of aluminum cans, supply chain forecasting and procurement, enhancing all of the Company's business segments. Its owner, Kim Murray, and its Chief Operating Officer, Tim Murray, will both remain with Wildpack as employees and will be represented on the Board of Directors with a voting seat and an observer seat.
"We are extremely excited to join the Wildpack team. We have very similar customer-centric cultures that will result in a seamless transition," said Land and Sea owner Kim Murray. "The added capabilities in the areas of can decorating and contract filling will allow us to better serve our existing customers as a full-service supply chain, packaging, and manufacturing provider. We are eager to gain the resources that Wildpack has access to so that we can replicate our forecasting and procurement business across their platform of customers."
Wildpack Chief Executive Officer Mitch Barnard commented, "What Land and Sea has been able to build is nothing short of incredible. Their ability to build customer relationships and trust through meticulous forecasting and procurement services has transformed their business from just a broker to a meaningful partner. This creates significant stickiness in their existing business and provides Wildpack the internal expertise to scale a forecasting and procurement division providing value-add incremental services to our more than 400 customers. Wildpack is quickly becoming a one-stop shop for brands to operationalize their visions. As we continue to acquire slightly up and down our vertical, we unlock more value for our customers allowing them to focus on what they do best – sales and marketing – while leaving the rest to us. While in and of itself this transaction is transformative for Wildpack based solely on the business, we are equally excited to have Tim and Kim join our leadership team and to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us as we build Wildpack into the dominant player in the middle market beverage manufacturing industry."