The Chinese group Wanshun New Material has acquired manufacturer Eurofoil Luxembourg for over €12 million in a deal completed earlier this week.
The acquisition was announced in a press release on 8 April, a few months after Virgule first reported on the negotiations.
Founded in the 1980s in Dudelange, Eurofoil Luxembourg, which has an annual turnover of around €100 million, is a manufacturer of aluminium foil specialising in food and pharmaceutical packaging. The company employs over 200 people.
Following the acquisition of the Luxembourg-based business from the American investment fund American Industrial Acquisition Corporation (AIAC), the Chinese group – which has 2,500 employees and $900 million (€767 million) in revenue – now has one priority: the turnaround of Eurofoil.
The struggling company has posted significant losses in recent years: €5.6 million in 2024 and €13 million in the first nine months of 2025, according to documents filed with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
Introducing ‘battery foil’ production
Wanshun’s strategy is based on three key points: restoring operational performance, improving productivity and competitiveness, and strengthening Eurofoil’s position in the European market.
Above all, the Chinese group aims to eventually introduce a new business activity within Eurofoil: the production of ‘battery foil’, which it already manufactures in China.
Battery foil is an essential component of lithium-ion batteries, which are used in electric cars and smartphones alike. However, it is also a far more sophisticated technological component than the aluminium foil used for packaging and Eurofoil will need to acquire this expertise from Wanshun.
The acquisition marks the group’s first industrial investment outside China. The aim is to use Eurofoil to establish production capacity in Europe and thereby “mitigate the impact of international protectionist trade policies,” it said in a press release.
This refers in particular to the anti-dumping duties imposed by the EU on aluminium foil: in 2021, following a complaint by six European producers including Eurofoil Luxembourg, the European Commission imposed such duties on Wanshun and other Chinese companies in the sector, as reported by Reuters at the time.
Ministry approval
The sale of Eurofoil to a Chinese group was not a foregone conclusion. One condition in particular had to be met: approval by the Grand Duchy’s Ministry of the Economy.
The ministry screens foreign direct investment to protect strategic European assets against takeovers that could harm the interests of the European Union.
This is an essential mechanism at a time when the EU is seeking to strengthen its industrial sovereignty, a move which, incidentally, led to the abandonment of the takeover of Circuit Foil by the Chinese group Defu Technology earlier this year.
Circuit Foil is, however, a far more sensitive asset than Eurofoil. As a supplier to semiconductor manufacturers, which notably equip chips intended for AI, the company is virtually dominant in its sector, and the risk of technology transfer to China was causing concern.
With products for food and pharmaceutical packaging that are “much more basic” and a market share that is “relatively small at the European level and even smaller at the global level,” there is no such objection for Eurofoil, explained François Coëffic, founder and CEO of QualityFoil, a Luxembourg-based company that advised on the acquisition.
“Above all, there is no risk that the Chinese partners will transfer machines or expertise to China. Quite the opposite will happen,” he added.
US fund AIAC sells all its Eurofoil sites
The sale of Eurofoil Luxembourg by US fund AIAC to Chinese investors comes after it sold the German plant Eurofoil Paper Coating GmbH in 2020. A third site, Eurofoil France, located in Rugles in Normandy, was placed in judicial liquidation in July 2025 whilst continuing operations, pending a buyer.
Coëffic has no doubt that Eurofoil Luxembourg will bounce back thanks to investments from the Wanshun Group. The use of aluminium in packaging is a “booming market”, he said, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector, which is experiencing “strong growth”.
Above all, demand for battery foil is growing rapidly in Europe, as electric cars and energy storage equipment are essential for the success of the energy transition. “There is high demand and little expertise in Europe today,” explained Coëffic. “This is a viable project and we can contribute to this supply chain that is taking shape in Europe.”
Coëffic, who acted as a facilitator throughout the acquisition process, will remain involved after the takeover. His company QualityFoil has signed a service contract with Wanshun, aimed at Eurofoil’s commercial development and operational turnaround.
Eurofoil’s new general manager – or head of day-to-day operations – is Thomas Christ, an engineer specialising in aluminium rolling who comes from QualityFoil. He will be responsible for the operational management of the site, under the supervision of the board of directors. Coëffic is himself one of the three members of Eurofoil’s new board of directors.
(This article was originally published by Virgule. Translated using AI, edited by John Monaghan)