PE-backed Tosca to buy Contraload

Tosca, which is backed by Apax Partners, has agreed to acquire Contraload, a provider of pooling load carriers in the UK and European Union. No financial terms were disclosed. In conjunction with the deal, Apax will commit additional capital to Tosca to fund its acquisition of Contraload.

PRESS RELEASE

Atlanta, Georgia, June 29, 2020 – Tosca, an innovator in reusable packaging and supply chain solutions, announced today that it has agreed to acquire Contraload NV, a leader in plastic pallet pooling in the United Kingdom and European Union.

The acquisition of Contraload will expand Tosca’s geographic reach and increase its product portfolio. The combined company will offer customers a stronger value proposition through increased network density and an expanded product offering.

In conjunction with the transaction, funds advised by Apax Partners (the “Apax Funds”), which acquired Tosca in 2017, will commit additional capital to Tosca to fund the acquisition of Contraload. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Tosca has a 60-year history of innovation that has driven its growth into a leading North American provider of reusable packaging and supply chain solutions across a wide array of markets. Today, the company is the largest RPC pooler in North America, offering an enhanced product portfolio and the most extensive service center network for grocery retailers and suppliers. It employs more than 1,236 people and operates 29 service centers worldwide.

Headquartered in Aartselaar, Belgium, Contraload is a leading provider of upstream reusable plastic pallets and containers for the FMCG industry and other commercial markets in Europe. The company, which runs a unique Pan-European pooling service and employs more than 150 people, also offers outsourced pallet and layerpad conditioning and management services for customer-owned asset pools. Contraload was founded in 2004 and has approximately 3 million units in use, serving close to 3,000 companies.

Eric Frank, CEO of Tosca, stated: “Tosca’s acquisition of Contraload, a leader in plastic pallet pooling in the United Kingdom and European Union, establishes our combined company as an even stronger partner for our customers globally and allows us to continue to propel the reusable revolution.”

Jesse Sels, Contraload’s Founder and Managing Director, said, “Having built Contraload into the leader in pooling plastic pallets, layerpads and IBCs in the B2B environment across Europe, we are excited to join with the Tosca team through this transaction. Our companies have a shared commitment to service excellence, innovation and reducing waste throughout the supply chain.”

Ashish Karandikar, Partner at Apax Partners, said: “Three years ago, we partnered with Tosca’s management team to build a world-class pooling business that brings sustainability, innovation and value to customers’ supply chains. The acquisition of Polymer in 2019 established Tosca’s ‘last mile’ capabilities in Europe. The combination with Contraload represents another important advance as it brings together Tosca’s last mile capabilities with Contraload’s offerings in the ‘first mile’ of a product journey – thereby creating unique visibility and value for customers. The combined organization offers a strong global network, an expanding reusables portfolio, improved research and development, and custom capability for all customers from CPGs to grocery chains.”

About Tosca
Tosca is a leading provider of reusable packaging and supply chain solutions across a diverse range of markets including eggs, case-ready meat, poultry, produce, seafood, and cheese. Our proven RPC system is a smarter way to move fresh product safely from source to shelf, substantially reducing shrink and labor cost, maintaining product quality, and optimizing overall supply chain efficiency for retailers, growers, and suppliers. Tosca recently acquired Polymer Logistics, expanding our geographic reach, product portfolio and R&D capabilities. For more information visit: www.toscaltd.com.

About Contraload
Contraload has grown to become the expert and market leader in pooling load carriers in a B2B environment, across Europe with service centers to support customers in over 15 countries. Markets include food ingredients, food packaging, hygiene products, infant nutrition, beverage can and non-hazardous liquids. Re-use is the key word as Contraload facilitates moving away from single use packaging towards a circular model of returning re-usable packaging. For more information visit: www.contraload.com.

About Apax Partners
Apax Partners is a leading global private equity advisory firm. Over its more than 40-year history, Apax Partners has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of approximately $50 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech & Telco, Services, Healthcare and Consumer. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For more information see: www.apax.com.