Constantia Flexibles Group, headquartered in Vienna, Austria, announced Monday it had signed a deal Friday to acquire Spear Group, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of labels.

Spear has been the world’s leading innovator and supplier of pressure-sensitive labels for the beverage industry since 1982. Its clients include Anheuser-Busch, Heineken, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Bacardi and Diageo, parent company of Smirnoff vodka.

The company has sales of approximately $195 million with 650 employees located at four facilities in North America, including one site in Europe (Wales/UK), one site in South Africa and a sales office in Singapore.

Spear’s 72,000-square-foot corporate headquarters at 5510 Courseview Drive in Mason employs 155 people, said Dan Muenzer, the company’s vice president.

Additionally, Spear has an increasingly growing business which provides re-sealable products primarily for the food and snack markets.

Constantia has group sales approaching $2 billion dollars and its operations can be found in 36 plants worldwide and includes more than 6,500 employees.

The parties agreed not to disclose the price of the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be finalized by late March or April, Muenzer said.

“Spear’s executive management has agreed to lead our future efforts for years to come and our market position has never been stronger,” Muenzer said.

“We are excited by the increased opportunities that Spear will be able to offer our customers by joining forces with Constantia Flexibles,” said Spear CEO Rick Spear. “This combination will enhance our leadership position in the technological development of pressure-sensitive labeling for primary brand decoration.”

Thomas Unger, CEO of Constantia Flexibles, said the acquisition will allow the company to serve its customers even better together with Spear.

“The (Constantia Flexibles) Group’s outstanding technological capabilities present many opportunities for continued profitable growth,” Unger said. “We look forward to partnering with Spear’s excellent management team to capture the benefits from combining our businesses.”