Packtion3; B2B packaging marketplace formed

Silgan Holdings Inc. (Stamford, CT), Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Private Equity (New York City) and Diamond Technology Partners Inc. (Chicago) announced in early April the formation of Packtion (Chicago), a new independent company that will focus on leveraging online technologies in the $400 billion global packaging industry. Packtion will serve as a neutral business-to-business(B2B) marketplace (www.packtion.com), that will combine content, tools and exchange capabilities to streamline the product development process and enhance transaction opportunities for buyers and suppliers of packaging. Going forward, the venture will pursue a broad range of strategic relationships with industry participants, as well as partnerships with e-infrastructure providers. Packtion will be backed by initial equity commitments of $53 million from its founding partners: Silgan Holdings, a leading provider of a broad range of packaging products and the largest supplier of metal containers for food products in North America; Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Private Equity, a leading private equity investment firm which has invested $4 billion in more than 160 companies since its founding 15 years ago; and Diamond Technology Partners, an e-commerce services firm that assists its clients in the development and implementation of business strategies for the digital age. Diamond was recently selected to assist General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler in the development of a B2B integrated supplier exchange through a single global portal. Packtion's board of directors will include representatives from Silgan Holdings, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Private Equity and Diamond Technology Partners. More information about Silgan Holdings Inc. can be found online at www.silgan.com. For more information about Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Private Equity, visit their web site at www.msdw.com/privateequity. Diamond Technology Partners Web site can be found at www.diamtech.com. For more information on Packtion, visit www.packtion.com.