NEW YORK, June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Castle Harlan, Inc., the New York private equity firm, announced today that one of the investment funds it controls has sold Associated Packaging Technologies, Inc. (APT), a leading manufacturer of specialty packaging for frozen foods.

The buyer was Sonoco Products Company, one of the largest diversified global packaging companies.  The all-cash purchase price was approximately $120 million, subject to certain possible adjustments.  APT is North America's largest manufacturer and supplier of crystallized polyethylene terephthalate (CPET) containers and is one of the largest suppliers of CPET packaging to the frozen food industry throughout the world.

Castle Harlan, founded in 1987, invests in controlling interests in the buyout and development of middle-market companies in North America and Europe. Its team of 19 investment professionals has completed 51 acquisitions since its inception with a total value in excess of $9.6 billion.  Castle Harlan currently manages investment funds with equity commitments of $2.5 billion.  The firm traces its roots to the start of the institutionalized private-equity business in the late 1960s.

Castle Harlan's current portfolio companies, which employ more than 37,500 people, include Ames True Temper, the manufacturer of lawn and garden tools and accessories; Baker & Taylor, the world's largest distributor of books and entertainment products to libraries and retailers; Pretium Packaging LLC, one of the country's leading manufacturers of custom-designed specialty plastic containers for the food, pharmaceutical, personal-care and household markets; and IDQ Holdings, Inc., the industry leader in Do-it-Yourself, branded products for servicing and repairing automotive air conditioners.

SOURCE Castle Harlan, Inc.