Novolex, a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, has announced it has agreed to acquire certain assets and business operations of Shields Bag and Printing Co., a manufacturer of custom engineered flexible packaging products located in Yakima, WA, USA. The transaction is expected to close near year end. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Shields Bag and Printing Company was founded in 1935. The Shields family expanded their founder’s successful commercial printing business into flexible packaging in the 1960s. Today, Shields ranks among the leading North American producers of flexible packaging with substantial capabilities in the areas of blown film extrusion, printing, bag making and other converting processes.

Shields’ core focus is providing custom engineered products to a diverse group of customers across a range of end-market segments, including building and construction, food and consumer, banking and security, lawn and garden, chemicals and energy, and general industrial.

“Becoming part of Novolex will allow the legacy of Shields Bag and Printing and its employees to continue to grow and prosper,” says Lisa Shields, CEO of Shields. “This is an ideal fit. Novolex leadership is very much aligned with our principles at Shields. They are committed to employee safety and welfare, as well as the communities where they live and work. That’s very important to the Shields’ family and it was an essential requirement for the transaction.”

“We are excited about bringing the Shields Bag and Printing’s team into the Novolex family,” explains Stan Bikulege, chairman and CEO of Novolex. “This transaction is very important to our shared future. The Shields team and products are a great fit for Novolex. We are pleased to continue and grow the 82-year legacy of success in serving customers created by the Shields family. And we are proud to welcome more than 500 Yakima-based employees and their families to ours. This is a big day for all of us.”       

The acquisition of the Shields’ assets and business is Novolex’s seventh acquisition since 2012. Previous Novolex acquisitions include Burrows Packaging (November 2016), Heritage Bag (May 2016), Wisconsin Film & Bag (October 2015), Packaging Dynamics (December 2014), Duro Bag (July 2014) and a portion of Clondalkin Group’s North American Flexible Packaging Division (April 2013). With the addition of Shields, Novolex is now a $2.5 billion revenue company with approximately 7,300 employees and 46 manufacturing plants: 41 in the United States (including two world class plastic recycling facilities), three in Canada, and one each in Mexico and The Netherlands.

Latham & Watkins LLP and Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough LLP acted as legal advisors to Novolex in connection with the acquisition. Moss Adams Capital LLC, Bryan Cave LLP, and Stokes Lawrence Velikanje Moore & Shore acted as advisors to Shields Bag & Printing.