Senior Exec Forum Addresses M&A Activity in Packaging, Coating & Converting

Published: April 22, 2010

CHICAGO, IL | AWA Alexander Watson Assoc. will host the M&A Executive Forum 2010 on June 7—8 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare Hotel in Rosemont (Chicago), IL, featuring Blaige & Co. as both a sponsor and participant in the event. The mergers  & acquisition program also will be supported by the Assn. of Industrial Metallizers, Coaters & Laminators (AIMCAL) and will include among its speakers CCL Label, Mondi, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Wells Fargo Securities.

Suited for senior company executives, interest in the event is mounting as attendee registrations build, according to Corey Reardon, president and CEO of AWA. The event is the first of its kind for AWA, says Reardon, which is tailored to the resin- and fiber-based packaging, coating, and converting sectors. It will allow networking among company executives, private equity firms, investment banks, lenders, financial intermediaries, and other experts while also offering, says Reardon,  opportunities for attendees to “educate, discuss, debate, and share insights within the sector, and within the M and A arena.”

CEO Thomas Blaige anticipates, “This conference will provide insights and strategies to help CEOs and investors to ensure their success as leaders, rather than victims of, the forces of consolidation.”

The agenda includes such topics and speakers as the following:

• Dr. William Llewellyn: AWA Market Overview—Sector Trends & Future Developments
• Thomas Blaige: Global Consolidation in the Packaging Sector
• Professor Marc Hayford of Loyola Univ.: The US Economic Outlook & Future Prospects
• Joseph McCormak of Sheffield Marketing Partners: The Power of Stories—Strategic Narratives as Corporate Imperative
• Maryann Waryjas of Katten Muchin Rosenman: M&A Trends in 2010
• John Church of Wells Fargo Securities: Packaging M&A—financing considerations for a Consolidating Industry
• Markus Fürst of Mondi: Mondi’s Acquisition Strategy in the Release Linner Segment
• Geoffrey T. Martin of CCL Label: Merger & Acquisitions in the Label Industry
• Ian Murdoch of PWC: Developments in the Forest, paper & Packaging Industry—CEO Perspectives
• A panel discussion moderated by Thomas Blaige  with panelists Stan Bikulege of Hilex Poly Co., Steve Glick of Lineage Capital, and Michael Kocourek of Mid Oaks Investments LLC