Gerresheimer Shutters Illinois Plant as BaFin Probe and Creditor Deadlines Tighten

German pharma packager Gerresheimer closes Illinois plant, cuts 172 jobs, as it navigates a BaFin audit, delayed financials, and creditor covenants.

Gerresheimer is cutting deep into its US operations while racing to satisfy regulators and creditors. The German pharmaceutical packaging group will close its glass manufacturing facility in Chicago Heights, Illinois, eliminating 172 jobs by September 30. Production of specialty pharmaceutical glassware — including serum and infusion bottles — will be shifted to existing plants in Italy and India.

The closure is part of a broader cost-cutting transformation program aimed at improving capacity utilization across the group’s global network. But the move lands at a moment of acute financial strain. Gerresheimer is already grappling with a BaFin special audit, delayed financial statements, and a share price that has been battered over the past year.

The Illinois exit will leave a heavy mark on the balance sheet. Management expects impairment charges of between €220 million and €240 million in the 2025 accounts. These non-cash write-downs relate primarily to the US glass business and technology projects at the Sensile Medical subsidiary.

A Creditor Lifeline With Strings Attached

The company’s financial calendar remains in disarray. The annual general meeting has been canceled and the first-quarter 2026 report postponed. Creditors have shown some patience, extending the deadline for audited 2025 accounts to the end of September 2026. In a parallel move, lenders have temporarily waived key leverage covenants, giving the group breathing room.

But the truce is conditional. Without audited numbers, institutional investors cannot commit. The stock was ejected from the SDAX in mid-April, and the share price — though recovering — reflects the deep uncertainty. After a 12-month collapse, the shares have clawed back roughly 22 percent over the past four weeks to €23.80, pushing back above the 50-day moving average.

BaFin and KPMG Under the Microscope

The BaFin probe centers on alleged accounting violations, including misstated lease liabilities, incorrect useful-life assumptions for development costs, and questionable impairment assessments in the Advanced Technologies segment, which carries a book value of nearly €197 million. The regulator has concrete evidence of breaches, according to company disclosures.

Adding to the pressure, the German audit oversight body has opened proceedings against KPMG, which issued an unqualified audit opinion on the flawed 2024 accounts. Gerresheimer has now brought in Grant Thornton as a second auditor alongside KPMG to help resolve the backlog.

Centor Sale and a Tech Partnership

While the accounting crisis dominates headlines, management is pushing forward with two strategic initiatives. The sale of US subsidiary Centor, a specialist in prescription drug packaging, is being handled by Morgan Stanley. A double-digit number of potential buyers are currently conducting due diligence, and Gerresheimer expects to close the transaction this year. Proceeds will be used to shore up the strained financing structure.

On the product side, the company has announced a technology partnership with US specialty chemicals group Milliken ahead of the Interpack trade fair in Düsseldorf in May. The collaboration focuses on an additive system that improves moisture barriers in specialty plastic packaging by up to 40 percent. The partnership builds on earlier work by the Bormioli Pharma subsidiary.

Guidance Holds — For Now

Despite the turmoil, management has maintained its full-year outlook. Gerresheimer expects 2026 revenue of €2.3 billion to €2.4 billion, with an adjusted operating margin of around 18 to 19 percent. The guidance is subject to the outcome of the pending audits.

The next hard deadline falls in June 2026, when the company aims to publish audited 2025 accounts. That document will reveal the full scope of the balance-sheet corrections and determine whether the creditor truce can become the foundation for a genuine turnaround. A date for the BaFin findings has not yet been set.