Irish firm One 51 has announced the $150m acquisition of a Californian business, Macro Plastics, the largest manufacturer of rigid plastic bulk bins in the world and a major specialist supplier to the agri-business and automotive sectors.

The deal is being financed through One 51’s existing Canadian and US plastics subsidiary IPL and will bring One 51’s revenues to well over €400m per year and earnings to close to €75m.

That’s sufficient scale to take a stockmarket listing and that option seems much more likely now following the announced sale yesterday of financier, Dermot Desmond’s near 25% stake in One 51.  Previous plans for a stockmarket flotation were terminated due to Dermot Desmond’s objections to that strategy.

Alan Walsh, One51 chief executive commented on the deal: "This transformational acquisition gives us our first significant presence on the west coast of America, providing us with a leading position in a number of growing market segments."

"The acquisition also expands our geographic reach, product portfolio and customer base across the growing North and South-American markets," he added.