APPE, part of bankrupt Spanish PET group La Seda de Barcelona, has been acquired by U.S.-based Plastipak Packaging Inc. for 360 million euros ($447.7 million).

The Plymouth, Mich.-based packaging company Plastipak submitted a sealed bid for the company along with two other bidders — European PET container maker Petainer and U.S.-based Anchorage investment fund — on Oct. 29.

Barcelona-based PET rigid packaging producer, APPE, has nine plants in Europe, North Africa and Turkey. Plastipak currently has 7 facilities in Europe. None are in Spain and it has no holdings in North Africa.

Plastipak’s winning bid included a gross up of 65 million euros ($80.8 million) of accounts payable that will be transferred with the business, but will be discounted from the bid, and result in an actual consideration for the business of 295 million euros ($366.8 million), Plastipak said in a statement.

Plastipak states that the transaction is subject to closing conditions, but is anticipated to complete late in the first quarter of 2015.

“We are very pleased to be selected to be the final choice to acquire the APPE Packaging Division,” stated Plastipak's chief commercial officer, Frank Pollock.  “We have evaluated the organizational strengths of APPE's business and have completed a comprehensive analysis of APPE's sites, machinery, and intellectual property, and as a result, we are confident that this transaction will enable us to better serve our existing and future customers.”

William Young, president and CEO of Plastipak, said that “We are continuing to improve our organizational capabilities to earn the confidence and loyalty of our customers in all the categories we serve. 

“This includes investments in packaging that address changing consumer demands and lifestyles.  We are excited and look forward to the future with the acquisition of the APPE Packaging Division.”

Plastipak currently has more than 27 sites in the US, South America and Europe, with over 4,000 employees.