Australian Billionaire Anthony Pratt Acquires US-Based Packaging Company To Boost Visy's Business

Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt has finalised the acquisition of California-based Robert Mann Packaging in a decision that will significantly boost his business in the U.S. and secure the future of his company Visy in Australia. The purchase will boost the presence of Pratt Industries USA in California and a link to the Australian company.

Pratt is the executive chairman of cardboard manufacturing and recycling company Visy, the biggest private company in Australia with annual revenue of more than $4.4 billion. The acquisition of the U.S.-based food and agriculture box business will cost Pratt $75 million, reports The Australian Financial Review.

The paper to be used by the new acquisition for packaging will come from Visy’s kraft paper mills in Tumut, NSW. This will provide steady export revenue for Visy as the company gets a bigger boost from customer exports to Asia and the falling Australian dollar.

Pratt said the acquisition will see high-quality paper exports from Australia to the U.S. west coast increase to another 80,000 tonnes per year. He added that the acquisition will bring another export customer for his Australian company and increases its national presence in the U.S.

Robert Mann Packaging has annual sales of $210 million with more than a dozen facilities in the U.S. west coast and Mexico. Pratt said the packaging business had a significant potential for growth as it integrates with his U.S. and Australian businesses. The billionaire added that he believes the business in California can eventually achieve annual revenue of $1 billion.

With the acquisition, the company has become the fifth biggest box manufacturer in the U.S. Pratt Industries USA has recently spent hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years to expand its facilities and build new factories amid the economic slowdown in the U.S.

Pratt has expressed his interest to expand his business in India. Previous reports have indicated that he admires the work of Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi in boosting the economy. The billionaire became executive chairman of Visy when his father, Richard Pratt, died in 2009. The Pratts have an estimated wealth of $7.64 billion, according to the 2014 BRW Rich List.

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