Multi-Color To Acquire Constantia Labels Division For About $1.3 Billion

Multi-Color Corporation. said Monday it has signed an agreement to acquire the labels division of Constantia Flexibles for about $1.3 billion in cash and stock. The division is part of Constantia Flexibles GmbH, an Austrian provider of flexible packaging and labels. The combined annual revenue of the two businesses is about $1.6 billion, the companies said in a statement. The deal "brings together Constantia Labels' high performing Food and Beverage business with Multi-Color's strong Wine and Spirit, and Home and Personal Care platforms, and emerging global position in Healthcare," said the statement. Multi-Color is expecting the deal to be "meaningfully accretive" to per-share earnings in fiscal 2019, the first full year of combined results. It is expected to close in the third quarter of fiscal 2018. Multi-Color said it still expects June quarter core EPS of about 80 cents. Multi-Color shares were halted for the news premarket, but have gained 6% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained about 10%.