Australian Firm Orora Acquires Carlyle-Owned Saverglass in France for $1.4 Billion

05 Sep, 2023

Australian Firm Orora Acquires Carlyle-Owned Saverglass in France for $1.4 Billion

Orora Ltd, an Australian packaging company, has announced its acquisition of Saverglass, a high-end glass bottle manufacturer based in France, previously owned by private equity firm Carlyle Group. The deal is valued at A$2.16 billion ($1.4 billion) and marks one of the largest capital raisings in Australia over the past year.

To fund this acquisition, Orora plans to secure A$1.35 billion through various means, including an A$450 million institutional placement, an A$895 million 1-for-2.55 accelerated non-renounceable pro-rata entitlement offer, and A$875 million in debt financing. The financing will be conducted at a price of A$2.70 per share, reflecting a 21.3% discount to Orora's last closing price on August 25, accounting for a 9 Australian cents per share final dividend.

Saverglass, under Carlyle's ownership since 2016, specializes in producing premium glassware, catering to luxury spirits and winemakers such as Grey Goose, Hennessy, and Rhum Clement.

Orora initially spun out of Amcor a decade ago, anticipates that the enterprise value of Saverglass, totaling 1.29 billion euros ($1.39 billion), corresponds to a multiple of 7.7 times adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the 12 months ending on June 30. The company also expects the acquisition to result in mid-single-digit earnings per share accretion during the first full financial year of ownership.

Orora shares had been placed on a trading halt on August 28, followed by a voluntary suspension, as the company worked to finalize the buyout announcement. ($1 = 1.5477 Australian dollars) ($1 = 0.9270 euros) (Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Poonam Behura and Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Muralikumar Anantharaman, and Jamie Freed)