Corrugated Packaging Holdings Limited, trading as Packaging Holdings, has acquired J.F. Walsh Holdings Ltd for an undisclosed sum. Shauna Murphy, the present owner, has become a shareholder in Packaging Holdings and will continue as CEO of Walsh Packaging.

Walsh Packaging is the trading name of J.F. Walsh (Roscrea) Ltd, which is a 100% owned subsidiary of J.F. Walsh Holdings Ltd. Walsh Packaging was founded by the grandfather of Shauna Murphy in 1948 and is a manufacturer of printed paper bags from its factory in Roscrea.

Packaging Holdings is a sustainable packaging business and recently acquired Cavan based corrugated box company Ace Corrugated and Dublin based corrugated box company Craftpak Packaging.

Packaging Holdings has assembled a very experienced team including Tony Richie former CFO of Smurfit’s as Chairman of the Advisory Board, Barry O’Brien former CEO of Digicel Jamaica as CEO, Eamon Farrell former CEO of Irish Flexible Packaging as COO, Fintan Flood former co-owner of Fispak Limited as CCO and Daniel O’Connell former CFO of Digicel as CFO, supported by the continuing CEOs of the businesses being acquired namely Pat O’Reilly of Ace, Paul Murphy of Craftpak and Shauna Murphy of Walsh.

Barry O’Brien commented that “Led by a very experienced team, Packaging Holdings plans to continue to consolidate and grow packaging businesses with a focus on sustainability. Paper decomposes much more quickly than plastic, and therefore it is less likely to be a risk to the environment.”

Following on from the successful acquisition and sale to ProAmpac of Irish Flexible Packaging and Fispak, IFP Investments Limited led the raise of €40m by Packaging Holdings, attracting investors such as the Martello Group and Staunch Limited.

Advisers:

    ➤   Legal: OCWM Law led by Edel Conway and Michael Walsh.

    ➤  FDD: John Donohoe & Co. led by John Donohoe.

    ➤   Bankers: Allied Irish Bank