2023
Prime Label completes acquisition of Polish printing company PEGWAN
Prime Label Group, the largest label manufacturer in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region and an entity controlled by Innova/6 SCA §SICAV, one of Innova Capital Group's private equity funds, has signed an agreement to acquire a 100% stake in the Polish printing company PEGWAN. On the back of this fifth acquisition, the Group will reach sales target of almost EUR 100 million in 2023, 12 months ahead of schedule. Prime Label is already working on further acquisitions in the region.
PEGWAN, over its more than 30 years of business, has established a reputation as an expert in the production of offset-printed wet glue labels. It operates out of a state-of-the-art facility in Lubartow, which was commissioned in 2019 and is equipped with world-class machinery to guarantee high quality and production efficiency. The company’s dynamic growth has seen it become a local leader in the production of paper labels for beer and food products. It currently has a diversified portfolio of clients that includes market-leading FMCG brands.
“This further acquisition cements our position as a regional leader in label production. Incorporating PEGWAN into the Group will allow us to benefit from economies of scale, make wider use of the team’s know-how in developing and implementing innovative product solutions, and generate purchasing and sales synergies. The market consolidation we have been successfully pursuing for several years has created a broad and competitive product range that allows us to continue our growth by, among other things, winning over new customers in Poland and abroad. Our key markets – apart from CEE – at the moment are DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) and Scandinavia,” says Arkadiusz Sapiecha, Prime Label CEO, adding, “PEGWAN will make our portfolio more attractive and the Group will be even better positioned to meet our customers’ expectations. We plan to continue working with the company’s existing management and look forward to further growth both in Poland and abroad. We buy healthy, dynamically growing companies offering unique propositions to customers. PEGWAN meets all these criteria. Plus, in an era of increasing ecological requirements, the paper labels produced by the company are an ideal way of complementing what we offer.”
“The acquisition of PEGWAN is another step bringing Prime Label Group closer to meeting the goals set out in its strategy, a fundamental pillar of which is the consolidation of high-quality label printing service providers in the CEE region. However, we have no intention of slowing down here. In fact, alongside the acquisition of PEGWAN, the Group plans to make further acquisitions – this time in the field of labels printed with digital printing technology. This is a natural continuation of the path we started down in 2020, when Slovenian printing company LabelProfi joined Prime Label. With demand for digitally printed labels rising faster than analogue technologies – LabelProfi has grown by more than 100% in three years – we want to invest in this segment and pioneer consolidation in the region,” adds Michal Wojdyla, Partner at Innova Capital, overseeing the transaction on behalf of the fund.
“I firmly believe that the addition of PEGWAN to the largest label group in the region will benefit both sides. Prime Label has a much better negotiating position with suppliers and a well-developed sales network across Europe. These are the arguments that convinced us of the transaction. I know that we are placing the company in good hands. The Group’s management team are experienced professionals with a wealth of industry expertise. They have a clear, long-term vision and are extremely effective in realising it,” says Przemysław Grzegorczyk, CEO of PEGWAN. “I am delighted that we will be able to continue working together,” he adds.
About Prime Label
Prime Label has four label printers in its portfolio: Chemes from Poznan (Poland), Embe Press from Lublin (Poland) – specialising in flexo printing, LabelProfi, a Slovenian digital printer, and LabelPrint, an Estonian printer dedicated to the Baltic markets and Scandinavian clients.
www.embepress.pl, www.chemes.eu, www.labelprofi.com, www.labelprint.ee
Prime Label's legal advisor was CMS from Warsaw, Poland and for financial and tax advice JP Weber also from Warsaw.
About PEGWAN
PEGWAN Printing House was established as a family business in 1983, a period when packaging production in Poland was in its infancy. Over time, as the demand for this type of service increased, well-considered investments in machinery and real estate saw it gain national prominence as a manufacturer, with turnover exceeding PLN 65 million in 2022. It is now a national leader in the production of offset printed wet glue paper labels and works with both global FMCG brands and local clients.
Advisors to the owners of PEGWAN in the transaction were Enterium Sp. z o.o. of Chorzow, Poland for financial and transactional advice, and Artur Skiba Kancelaria Radcy Prawnego of Lublin, Poland for legal advice.
