APERIO GROUP in New Zealand has bought Epic Packaging Limited for an undisclosed sum. Trans-Tasman Aperio, owned by one of Australia’s largest private equity investors, Catalyst Investment Managers Pty Ltd, is one of Australia’s largest suppliers of flexible plastic packaging solutions.

Epic’s business was founded in 1981, and is one of New Zealand’s leading plastic packaging printing, extrusion and conversion operations.

Hesketh Henry Lawyers acted for Epic’s owner, Mike Markham, in the transaction, and Chapman Tripp for Aperio.

“Our client had owned and run Epic since 1981, building it up to a very successful enterprise,” said Sarah Kerr, senior solicitor at Hesketh Henry, who worked on the transaction. “We did our best to negotiate the cleanest possible exit for him.”

Kerr said some of the challenge of the deal came from the nature of the plastic packaging business, which relied heavily on verbal, ‘course of dealing’ agreements.

“There was some initial tension around convincing the purchaser that important, unwritten customer relationships would continue past closing,” she said.

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The Hesketh Henry team worked with New Zealand investment banking firm Grant Samuels & Associates.