Packaging systems maker Bobst Group is negotiating to buy fellow Swiss company Wifag-Polytype's coating technology business.

Bobst says the move is part of a strategy to continuously expand its existing product portfolio, and it will leverage the strengths of both companies to continue growth internationally.

Both parties still need to reach a definitive agreement, with the closing of the transaction expected to occur at the end of the second quarter of 2016.

Bobst supplies equipment and services to packaging and label manufacturers in the folding carton, corrugated board and flexible materials industries.

Once a major newspaper press manufacturer Wifag-Polytype Group - privately owned and headquartered in Fribourg, Switzerland - is currently focussed on making printing machines for plastic containers and tubes, and metal packaging equipment, as well as developing high-precision coating and laminating equipment and process solutions for the production of multilayer films and papers. It has sites in Asia and the USA