Ropak to Offer 900,000 Shares of Common Stock

Ropak Corp., a Fullerton-based maker of plastic containers, said Friday it plans to raise nearly $10 million in a public offering of 900,000 shares of its common stock at $11 each.

Proceeds from the offering, which is being managed by Merrill Lynch Capital Markets, will be used to repay $5.5 million in bank debt and to provide capital for expansion and acquisitions, said R.W. Cameron, Ropak’s vice president of finance.

Of the 900,000 shares offered, 760,000 are coming from the company’s treasury, while 140,000 shares are being sold by shareholders who converted Ropak debentures into company common stock earlier this year, Cameron said.

In November, Ropak announced plans to acquire a pair of companies which make plastic buckets for $5.7 million in cash. The acquisitions of Capilano Industries Inc., of Kent, Wash., and Capilano Plastics Co. Ltd., of British Columbia, are expected to be completed by the end of January.