US-based buyout firm Lindsay Goldberg will sell German packaging company Weener Plastik for approximately $500m (€400m), as per a report by Reuters.
Reuters quotes that rival buyout firms including CD&R, Ardian, Charterhouse and Bain are also in the bidding race. It is being speculated that the firms have valued the company at approximately eight times its earnings.
Unnamed sources say that some packaging firms like Silgan, Berry, RPC, Alpla and Lawco have also shown interest in purchasing the company.
It is expected that Weener will post its 2014 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of €50m on sales of 275 million.
The company primarily manufactures cosmetics, food and home care packaging with a specific focus on sealing caps, valve caps, beverage caps, plastic bottles, jars, dispensers and also dosing systems for customer-specific solutions and standardised products.
Lindsay Goldberg had acquired Weener Plastik in 2012, which was further strengthened with the acquisition of Dutch packaging company Plasticum.
Currently, Weener operates 30 locations across the world and employs around 2,000 people.
Last year, Weener acquired the complete shares of Mumbai-based Weener Empire Plastics where it already had a minority stake. This deal included seven factories in India.
Reuters reported that bankers are preparing debt packages of approximately €250m for the purchase and the debt is expected to be in the form of senior leveraged loans denominated in euros.
The sale of the packaging company will be handled by investment bank Macquarie.
Image: Weener Plastik recently launched new cream cheese packaging for Hochland. Photo: courtesy of Weener Plastik.
