CHESAPEAKE, THE US packaging giant, has completed the sale of its Northern Ireland plant and four factories in the Republic to private equity investors as part of a $485 million deal to restructure its business.

The group has sold all of its operating businesses to private equity institutions Irving Place Capital Management and Oaktree Capital Management. Under the terms of the deal the group, previously a publicly traded company listed in the US, will now operate as a private company headquartered in Britain.

The former Virginia-based corporation filed for voluntary chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US last December to facilitate the sale of its operating businesses to private investors.

Chesapeake, which employs 5,400 people worldwide, manufactures a range of paper cartons, leaflets, labels and plastic packaging for niche markets. The group has a substantial operation in Belfast, which is one of 16 plants across the UK.

Chesapeake has been a key player in the Irish packaging market since 2000.