Sonoco Grabs Venture Stake

Industrial and consumer packaging products and services provider Sonoco Products(SON Quote) said Monday it agreed to acquire Ahlstrom's 35.5% interest in Sonoco-Alcore, a joint venture formed in 2004 when the two companies combined their European tube, core and coreboard operations.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The transaction which is expected to be completed in the third quarter, pending regulatory approvals, will raise the Sonoco's ownership in the operations from 64.5% to 100%.

''We expect that the purchase will be slightly accretive to Sonoco's earnings in the fourth quarter of this year," the Hartsville, S.C.-based company said.

The joint venture, which posted total sales of about $330 million in 2005, consists of 28 tube and core plants and six paper mills, as on Monday.