Polish tissue manufacturer Velvet Care has been acquired by Abris Capital Partners.
The private equity company has agreed to acquire a majority equity stake in the business, which manufactures brand-name, tissue-based personal care products, including hand tissues, toilet paper and kitchen paper towels.
It is the owner of the Velvet brand in Poland and has had more than 20 years of successful operation.
Some 500 staff are based either at the company’s manufacturing facility in Klucze or at its commercial office in Warsaw.
The current company was established in 2013 but its origins date from 1897, including a period of 17 years under the ownership of International Paper and Kimberly-Clark.
The products of Velvet CARE are currently sold in 15 countries.
Artur Pielak, chief executive of Velvet Care, added: “For many years the Velvet brand has been the leader on the Polish market.
“Being a modern and successful organisation, the company is enjoying sustained popularity among consumers and synonymous with the highest quality of paper-based, personal hygiene products.
“We are delighted that we will be able to continue pursuing Velvet Care’s strategic development in Poland whilst gradually building our position in export markets with the backing and experience offered by Abris.”
Paweł Gieryński, a managing partner of Abris, said its strategy is to “transform the companies under our ownership into national and regional champions in their respective industries”.
He said: “We have the same ambition for Velvet Care and propose to achieve that objective through a combination of organic growth and selective acquisitions.
“The company has recently completed a major capital expenditure programme which has substantially increased its production capacity; we will continue this programme while we seek to acquire other attractive, related businesses in the region.”
The transaction remains subject to the standard approval from competition authorities.
In March, the company also started up production of a Valmet-supplied PM at its site in Klucze.
The machine has a width of 5.6m width and is one of the largest and most modern machines in the Central and Eastern European market.
Following the investment, Velvet Care will produce over 100,000tpy of the highest quality hygienic tissue paper.
Abris Capital Partners also owns the Romanian manufacturer of tissue paper and hygiene products Pehart Tec.
