On 19 December 2005 Austria-based packaging supplier Mayr-Melnhof MM Packaging acquired 50 per cent plus one share in the offset segment of Polygrafoformlenie located in St Petersburg.

The remaining shares will stay with the former owner. The company says that the current management team will stay in office. Polygrafoformlenie is one of Russia’s largest folding carton producers. Its activities in the area of flexible packaging are not included in the agreement.
The future joint venture MM Polygrafoformlenie generates annual sales of approximately Euro 35 million in offset printing and converts approximately 26,000 tonnes of cartonboard, supplying mainly international consumer goods producers. The company employs some 650 people. The existing MM Packaging site in St Petersburg, which was acquired last year, will be part of the joint venture. For the cigarette packaging segment, an investment programme in rotogravure printing is in a planning stage. The transaction will be formally completed after the approval by the relevant competition authorities, expected for the beginning of next year. (ci)