29 January 1998: Australian paper and packaging group Amcor Ltd. has reported that they have decided against bidding for global packaging assets of British conglomerate BTR Plc.
Initially, the compan…
29 January 1998: Australian paper and packaging group Amcor Ltd. has reported that they have decided against bidding for global packaging assets of British conglomerate BTR Plc. Initially, the company was, indeed, a prospective buyer of the assets, put up for sale by BTR last September. After taking a good look at the businesses, Amcor spokesman Peter Cairns said the company had chosen not to enter the auction for a combination of reasons, including strategic considerations and constraints on capital expenditure. “We have watched and are watching with interest, but I think you could assume it is very unlikely we would be involved in buying anything from BTR,” he said. “It is a time when we are divesting businesses”. “We have made it very clear to the investment community that we are pulling back on capex because our results have fallen away. It is just financially prudent not to be spending as much money as in the past,” he added. For the first time in its 71-year history, Amcor reported financial problems for the year ended 30 June 1997 with a net loss of A$ 81 million, after net one-off losses of A$ 323.4 million. At the time, Amcor also announced it had sold a paper mill in the United States and a box-making plant in Germany. The total BTR sell-off, which also includes its building products assets, could raise about UK 3.5 billion, British analysts said.