Australian company Orora is buying Carlyle-based French company Saverglass for $1.4 billion

Wine bottle samples stand on a table as a worker checks the production line at a Saverglass factory in Ras Al Khaimah March 31, 2014. REUTERS/Martin Dokoupil/File Photo acquire license rights

SYDNEY, Sept 5 (Reuters) – Australian packaging company Orora Ltd (ORA.AX) announced on Tuesday that it has acquired French high-end glass bottle maker Saverglass from private equity firm Carlyle Group (CG.O) for 2nd September AUD .16 billion (US$1.4 billion) will buy ).

Orora shares remain on hold as the company raises A$1.35 billion, one of Australia’s largest fundraisers over the past year.

According to an investor presentation, Saverglass, which was purchased by Carlyle in 2016, makes world-class glassware for, among others, luxury spirits and winemakers such as Gray Goose, Hennessy and Rhum Clement.

Orora, which was spun off from Amcor a decade ago, will complete the purchase with an institutional placement of A$450 million, an accelerated non-cancellable 1:2.55 prorated entitlement offer for A$895 million and A$875 million finance debt financing, it said in a statement.

The funds will be raised at a price of AUD$2.70 per share, a discount of 21.3% from the last closing price on August 25, factoring in a final dividend of AUD9 cents per share.

Trading in Orora stock was suspended on Aug. 28 and later voluntarily suspended due to the company having to delay an official acquisition announcement.

Saverglass’ enterprise value of €1.29 billion ($1.39 billion) represents a multiple of 7.7 times adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA for the 12 months ended December 30), according to Orora June).

The transaction is expected to result in mid-single-digit earnings per share in the company’s first full fiscal year of ownership.

($1 = 1.5477 Australian dollars)

($1 = 0.9270 euros)

Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Poonam Behura and Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Edited by Jacqueline Wong, Muralikumar Anantharaman and Jamie Freed

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Scott Murdoch has been a journalist for more than two decades, working for Thomson Reuters and News Corp in Australia. He has specialized in financial journalism for most of his career, covering Asian equity and debt markets as well as Australian M&A. It is based in Sydney.