HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish packaging company Huhtamaki, known for making paper cups for McDonald's, said on Tuesday it will buy Indian firm Positive Packaging for $336 million to increase its access to Indian and Middle Eastern markets.
India-based Positive Packaging is part of the Enpee Group. Positive Packaging has six plants in India and three in the United Arab Emirates.
Huhtamaki said Positive Packaging had sales of 220 million euros ($300 million) last year and employs about 2,500 staff in India and the United Arab Emirates. The deal is expected to be finalised in the autumn, Huhtamaki said.
"This increases our market share and supply capacity in India," a Huhtamaki spokeswoman said. "We also get a significantly better footprint in Africa and the Middle East."
Positive Packaging makes flexible packaging, made of plastic and used in a wide variety of products from chocolate bars to cat food.
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Positive Packaging's operations in Nigeria are not part of the acquisition, the spokeswoman said.
($1 = 0.7331 Euros)
(Reporting by Sakari Suoninen; Editing by David Goodman and David Evans)
