Houlihan Lokey Advises Oji Holdings

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Oji Holdings Corporation (Oji), one of the world’s leading paper manufacturers, has acquired Walki Holding Oy (Walki) from One Equity Partners Europe (OEP). The transaction closed in April 2024.

Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Oji is a publicly listed manufacturer of paper-related household and industrial materials, with a major presence in Asia and Oceania. Oji covers the full paper value chain and offers a broad product range across paperboard, base paper, carton, pulp, and paper packaging, including containerboard, corrugated and folding cartons, household paper, functional materials, adhesive products, films, and newsprints as well as woodchips and lumber products, to a global customer base in the industrial, household, consumer, energy, and communication sectors, among others.

Founded in 1930 and headquartered in Espoo, Finland, Walki is a specialty packaging materials manufacturer, offering consumer and industrial packaging for food and specialty consumer products as well as engineered materials, such as insulation and fire-retardant facings, sustainable membranes, and protective clothing applications. Walki has 17 production facilities worldwide and employs more than 1,700 people, generating revenue of €705 million in CY 2022.

Together, Oji and Walki will become an integrated global packaging manufacturer with raw material paper supply capabilities. The combination of Oji’s barrier technologies and Walki’s advanced technical lamination will accelerate the development of environmentally friendly fiber-based solutions.

OEP is a middle-market private equity firm focused on the industrial, healthcare, and technology sectors in North America and Europe. The firm has offices in New York, Chicago, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to Oji. This transaction is the second announced mandate by Oji, highlighting our capability of differentiated sector expertise as well as execution excellence across continents.