Canadian buyout firm Onex is said to be leading the bidding for Switzerland-based juice-box maker SIG Combibloc Group.
Onex is competing against Swiss private-equity firm Partners Group Holding in the final round. It is being speculated that there is a possibility of the valuation reaching an amount of $4bn.
Bidders who had offered above €3.9bn ($4.9bn) in the first round were accepted for the second round. However, valuations have since come down to €3.5-3.8bn, possibly due to a drop in SIG's recent business performance.
New Zealand-based Rank Group, which is backed by billionaire Graeme Hart, bought SIG in 2007 for $2.9bn (2.8 billion Swiss francs).
SIG manufactures cartons for V8 vegetable drinks and Campbell soups and its acquisition could validate Onex's ongoing efforts to expand in Europe and end the dry run for acquisitions this year, reported Bloomberg.
SIG Combibloc achieved a turnover of €1,680m in 2013 and employs around 5,100 employees across more than 40 countries.
Onex, which is a Toronto-based private equity firm, has only made one significant acquisition so far in 2014 with the purchase of York Risk Services Group which is a provider of risk management, insurance claims and managed-car services for around $1.33bn.
Bloomberg also reported that Onex's management said on a conference call that European market volatility is creating opportunities for acquisitions as companies back away from initial public offerings.
