Billionaire businessman Raphael Geminder moves to take Pact private

afr.com:

Raphael Geminder, the billionaire businessman who made his fortune in packaging, wants to take his struggling Pact Group off the ASX in a deal that would value the entire company at just $234 million.

This compares with a sharemarket capitalisation of $1.6 billion two years ago before the packaging group was crunched by soaring inflation in raw materials and the drag of having to invest in modernising packaging plants to deliver “greener” products that could be recycled.

Mr Geminder, who holds 50.004 per cent of Pact, has made the offer at 68¢ per share, a small premium to the 67.5¢ per share at which Pact closed on Tuesday. The company has been a poor investment for Mr Geminder – who has a fortune of some $1.3 billion, according to the Financial Review Rich List – particularly over the last two years.

Pact shares were at $4.55 in August 2021. Pact has been listed since 2013. The privatisation offer has been made through Mr Geminder’s Kin Group.

Raphael “Ruffy” Geminder is the biggest shareholder in Pact Group and has moved to end its time on the ASX.  

“Pact faces a challenging environment, with supply chain disruptions, inflationary pressures, fluctuating resin prices, labour constraints and macroeconomic uncertainty,” Kin Group said in a statement, adding that there was little prospect of a competing offer and the intention was to delist Pact from the ASX as soon as possible if the offer is successful.

Mr Geminder’s Kin Group has investments across retail, packaging and property, with other investments in listed companies including a 20 per cent stake in discount retailer The Reject Shop, 65 per cent of Pro-Pac Packaging, and a 4.5 per cent stake in skincare and make-up distributor McPhersons.

Pact was established in