The sale of UK bin and container manufacturer Straight plc to Irelands One51 Plastics Holdings Limited has taken a step forward, after the acquisition was approved by the Competition and Markets Authority on Monday (July 28).
The agreement for an acquisition by One51 was announced on May 2 2014 with Leeds-based Straights shares to be paid for at 78p in cash valuing the business at 10.7 million.
It is expected that the deal could be finalised by August 12, which would see Straight founder and chief executive Jonathan Straight step down as a director of the company, although he will be retained for 18 months on a consultancy basis.
Mr Straight, 48, is a well known figure within the waste industry having started the company on his own, sharing an office in Leeds with a community group.
One of his major achievements has been the development of a manufacturing site in Hull and turning this into a profit-making operation as well as selling caddies and containers to numerous UK local authorities. Straight has also become a large player in the compost bin and water butt market.
One51
The purchase of Straight by One51 could see the Irish firm take a leading position in the UKs waste container manufacturing market as it already owns the Rotherham-based wheeled-bin manufacturer MGB Plastics.
One51 describes MGB as “the UK’s leading manufacturer of wheeled bins and kitchen caddies and other recycling containers”.
Explaining the reasons for the acquisition plan, One51 stated: “Having established itself as a leading player in the UK wheeled bin market via its subsidiary which traded as MGB Plastics, One51 wants to build upon this success by undertaking complementary strategic acquisitions in the UK.
“One51 believes that an acquisition of Straight would be a good strategic fit in this regard. In
particular, a combination of MGB Plastics and Straight would create a leading specialist injection moulding group in the UK.”
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