Bemis Stock Price, News & Analysis

Bemis Company, Inc. (BMS) was acquired by Amcor plc in June 2019 and no longer operates as an independent public company. The stock symbol BMS ceased trading on the New York Stock Exchange on June 11, 2019, when Amcor completed its $6.8 billion all-stock acquisition. Former Bemis shareholders received 5.1 Amcor shares for each Bemis share they owned, with Amcor and Bemis shareholders owning approximately 71% and 29% of the combined company, respectively. Bemis now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Amcor plc, which trades under the ticker symbol AMCR on the NYSE.

Company History and Operations

Bemis Company was founded in 1858 by Judson Moss Bemis in St. Louis, Missouri, initially as Bemis Brothers Bag Company, a manufacturer of printed cotton bags for food products. The company's first location was on the second floor of a machine shop, which provided steam to operate printing presses and readily available maintenance personnel for machine repairs. Over its 161-year history as an independent company, Bemis evolved into a global manufacturer of flexible packaging products and pressure-sensitive materials.

Prior to the acquisition, Bemis was headquartered in Neenah, Wisconsin, and operated 78 facilities across 12 countries with approximately 16,000 employees worldwide. The company generated over $4 billion in annual sales, with approximately $260.9 million coming from flexible packaging for medical use in the United States alone. Bemis' packaging products and adhesive materials were distributed globally, serving customers across multiple continents.

Product Portfolio and Market Focus

Bemis specialized in manufacturing flexible packaging products ranging from self-venting cook-in-bag packaging and retort packaging for shelf-stable products to vacuum packaging for meat products and puncture-resistant sterile medical packaging. The company also produced pressure-sensitive materials used across various industries. Over two-thirds of Bemis packaging was used in the food industry, with the balance serving medical, pharmaceutical, chemical, and agribusiness markets.

The company's healthcare packaging division, Bemis Healthcare Packaging, manufactured coextruded, laminated, and flexible forming films, foil barrier laminations, pouches, bags, thermoformed trays, lids, and heat seal coated DuPont Tyvek packaging materials in medical grades. The division also produced medical-grade paper packaging solutions. These products were critical for the safe transportation and use of medical devices and pharmaceutical products, providing high-barrier properties and chemical resistance.

Bemis' pressure-sensitive products served industries including graphic arts, digital imaging, assembly engineering, communications, and medical applications. The company's technical capabilities in material science and films were widely acknowledged in the packaging industry as being among the best available, which was a key factor in Amcor's decision to pursue the acquisition.

Innovation and Industry Recognition

Bemis maintained a strong focus on innovation throughout its operations. The Flexible Packaging Association honored Bemis Healthcare Packaging with a Silver Achievement Award for Technical Innovation in the development of packaging solutions for transdermal pharmaceutical products. The company's proprietary sealant technologies provided low drug uptake and high-barrier properties, critical for packaging lidocaine patches and other transdermal formulations.

In July 2012, Bemis announced a strategic partnership with Norwegian printed electronics company Thin Film Electronics ASA to bring printed electronics capabilities to existing Bemis packaging lines, demonstrating the company's commitment to emerging technologies. The company also pursued growth through acquisitions, including the purchase of medical device packaging operations from SteriPack Group, a global manufacturer of sterile packaging solutions for medical device and pharmaceutical applications.

The Amcor Acquisition

Amcor Limited, an Australian-based packaging company, announced the definitive agreement to acquire Bemis on August 6, 2018, for $5.3 billion in an all-stock transaction. The combination created a global packaging giant with enhanced scale, capabilities, and geographic footprint. The U.S. Department of Justice required Amcor to divest certain medical flexible packaging assets as a condition for approving the merger, ensuring continued competition in the medical packaging market.

The merger completed on June 11, 2019, and all Bemis operations were integrated into Amcor plc. The combined company became a global leader in developing and producing packaging for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical, home and personal care products. Amcor is included in both the S&P 500 and S&P/ASX 200 indices and operates as a publicly traded company on both the New York Stock Exchange and Australian Securities Exchange.

Investors seeking exposure to the former Bemis business should research Amcor plc (NYSE: AMCR), which now encompasses all of Bemis' packaging operations, customer relationships, and technical capabilities. The integration brought together two industry leaders with complementary strengths in flexible and rigid packaging, specialty cartons, closures, and packaging services.