ASX-listed Pro-Pac Packaging Limited (ASX:PPG) has gone into voluntary administration and is seeking buyers for the business – or parts of.
The company has appointed partners from McGrathNicol as voluntary administrators of the group, who have issued a statement saying those who are “interested in recapitalising PPG or acquiring one or more of PPG’s business units are invited to register their interest with the administrators”.
McGrathNicol partner and administrator Rob Smith said, “We are urgently engaging with key stakeholders to maximise the prospect of successfully completing a sale or recapitalisation of PPG, or sales of its various business units.
“We are exploring all options that offer continued employment for PPG’s workforce, and enable the business to continue producing high-quality packaging solutions for domestic and international customers.”
The administrators will also work closely with PPG’s employees, suppliers, customers, financers, and other stakeholders to stabilise operations.
A first statutory meeting of creditors is expected to take place by 3 November.
PPG is a flexibles and industrial speciality packaging company with a diversified distribution and manufacturing network throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Headquartered in Melbourne, it delivers bespoke packaging solutions to blue-chip and SME clients in the industrial, food and beverage, health, agriculture, and manufacturing sectors.
In the lead up to the voluntary administration, the company’s director Ian Shannon resigned on 10 October, but remains as CEO. Kathleen Forbes also resigned from her role as company secretary on 21 October, with PPG now commencing a tender process to fill the role.
In the interim, the responsibilities of company secretary will be undertaken by Shannon, with additional support provided by its legal advisors until a permanent replacement is found.
PPG has been transparent about its liquidity position – in August, it issued a statement saying it was conducting a strategic review, which includes a number of transactions including the sale of assets and actions to restore profitability.
At that time, the company was undergoing negotiations with several bidders on a number of potential transactions – but no transactions reached “an acceptable level of certainty for a specific announcement to be made”.
It also revealed its major shareholder Bennamon Pty Ltd provided an additional secured loan facility of up to $3 million, which was in addition to the $1.2 million the company drew to support its liquidity position.
In March, the company released its 1H25 financial results, reporting a decline in revenue from continued operations of 10.1 per cent across the group at $142.9 million.
The company said this included the material impact of a $13.6 million reduction in sales to its major customer in the Middle East and a three per cent reduction in other volumes in the flexibles business.
The list of PPG’s insolvent Australian and New Zealand entities are as follows:
