Private equity firm American Securities purchased Tekni-Plex from two other private equity firms. Avenue Capital Group of New York and Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital Group sold their ownership stakes in the specialty plastic films maker to American for an undisclosed amount. According to specialty daily Plastics & Ribber Weekly, the two private equity firms had been the majority owners of Tekni-Plex in the last five years.

American's managing director David Horing said about his firm's latest investment, "(Tekni-Plex was) very attractive, given our strategy of investing in market-leading companies. We believe the company is poised for a strong future".

Aside from Tekni-Plex, American also owns another major plastics asset. Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS) is considered to be the largest high density polyethylene pipe maker in North America. In a recent Plastics News survey of the largest pipe, profile and tubing makers in the North American region, ADS placed second among them. ADS generate over USD1 billion or GBP620 million in pipe-related sales annually.

Tekni-Plex chief executive Paul Young also said in a statement, "(Working with American Securities) will enhance our ability to service our customers worldwide through ongoing investment in product development, technology and expansion of our global footprint".

The specialty plastic films maker operates in nine countries all over the world with its 25 plants. In Europe, it has its manufacturing facilities based in Belfast, Italy, Belgium and Germany. Its European division manufactures various film and tubing products that are used for medical, automotive, packaging and other purposes. The company's sales for the year ended June 30 was at USD655 million or GBP406 million.

Tekni-Plex overall is composed of eight companies that included perishable food packaging producer Dolco Packaging and Tekni-Films , a blister pack film maker. Since its establishment in 1967, Tekni-Plex operates other business units including leading plastic tubing maker Action Technology and Colorite Compounds.