Apax Centor acquisition values Gerresheimer assets at €1.5bn

Apax Partners has agreed to acquire Ohio-based medical packaging company Centor and a separate plastics packaging business from Gerresheimer for €1.5 billion. The Apax Centor acquisition covers two Gerresheimer assets that generated about €570 million of combined revenue in 2025 and employ around 2,400 people.

The transaction adds to private equity activity in healthcare packaging, a segment tied to prescription drug distribution and primary pharmaceutical containers. Gerresheimer, a German medical packaging company led by chief executive Uwe Röhrhoff, is selling the businesses on separate timetables.

What is Apax buying from Gerresheimer?

Apax is buying Centor, an Ohio-based maker of medical packaging, and Gerresheimer’s Primary Packaging Plastics business. Anders Meyerhoff, a partner at Apax, said in a statement that Centor and Primary Packaging Plastics hold leading positions in prescription vials and primary pharmaceutical packaging.

Primary pharmaceutical packaging refers to the material that directly contains a medicine, such as a vial or other container used before dispensing or administration. In drug supply chains, reliability and quality control are central because the packaging comes into contact with regulated products.

Meyerhoff said the businesses have built reputations over decades for quality and reliability. He also said Apax has experience with carveouts and will work with management and its Operational Excellence Practice to create a standalone company aimed at long-term growth.

A carveout separates a business line from a larger corporate owner, requiring new or transferred systems for management, operations, finance and other functions. For buyers, the process can create an independent platform, while sellers can use it to reshape their portfolios.

When will the Gerresheimer sales close?

The sale of Centor is expected to complete by the end of Gerresheimer’s financial year 2026. The sale of the plastics packaging business is expected to close in the first half of financial year 2027.

The staggered schedule means Apax’s acquisition of the two assets will not close as a single simultaneous handover. The reported closing periods also indicate that separation work, regulatory processes or other transaction steps may run across more than one financial year.

Gerresheimer has appointed Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc as lead financial adviser on the transaction. Commerzbank is also supporting the company as a financial adviser and has provided fairness opinions.

Latham & Watkins is serving as legal counsel to Gerresheimer. The disclosed advisers place the transaction within the market for larger corporate divestitures, where sellers often use investment banks for valuation and execution support and law firms for transaction documentation and closing conditions.

No additional financing terms were disclosed in the announcement reported by PE Hub. The parties also did not disclose separate prices for Centor and the Primary Packaging Plastics business.

This story draws on original reporting from PE Hub.