31= (27=) Abdul Majid Alimohamed £140m (£120m)
The sale of Abdul Majid Alimohamed’s Yardley-based Europackaging to private equity firm MidOcean Partners is thought to have netted him and his family around £100 million. Not bad for a man who arrived here from Malawi in 1974 and began a business as a paper bag merchant.
Europackaging is now a £250 million business selling packaging around the world. MidOcean Partners is a middle-market private equity firm based in New York and London, and specialising in consumer and industrial companies with growth potential, particularly in the States.
Abdul Majid and his sons Shabir and Afzal retain a minority stake in the business and continue to be involved at a strategic level. They saw the sale as an opportunity to grow the business still further - expanding markets and products - with new capital and a new operational management team.
The expansion has already started, with investment in its facility in New Hampshire, USA and new sales offices in India and France.
Through 32 years of growth Europackaging now makes and distributes a wide range of packaging products worldwide. Among other products, it provides nearly eight billion carrier bags a year to UK supermarkets.
The company also has operations in Malaysia, China and Turkey, and a raft of joint ventures and partnerships to increase its world penetration.
Europackaging now employs more than 1500 people across 10 sites worldwide. In 2005 the company invested in a state-of-the-art four storey head office building and three hall distribution centre in Birmingham. The centre is manned by more than 250 people. Europackaging also has a dedicated research and development facility at its Birmingham HQ. This R&D unit has developed a range of innovative and environmental products including woven long life bags and sustainable carrier bags.
As part of the deal with MidOcean, Bill Ronald, former UK managing director of Mars Confectionery and chief executive of convenience food group Uniq came in as chairman. Attila Balogh, who previously ran the international business of coffee shop chain Tchibo was appointed chief executive.
