Exclusive: Bottle maker Verallia set for possible 4 billion euros IPO – sources

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Buyout group Apollo is preparing French glass bottle maker Verallia for any wall street game listing later this season, in doing what develop into one of the largest French initial public offerings of the year, people towards the matter said.

The private equity firm, that is making use of Lazard as its IPO advisor, has asked banks to pitch in coming days for roles in organizing the flotation, which will value Verallia at a lot more than 4 billion euros ($4.5 billion), the trainer told us.

Rothschild is advising Verallia, they added.

Verallia, which traces its roots into the Vauxrot glassworks founded in 1827, counts Pernod Ricard (PA:PERP), champagne house Dom Perignon and chocolate spreads maker Nutella among its clients.

So-called global coordinators are hoped for to remain mandated later this month or perhaps in May for the IPO of Saint-Gobain's former glass bottle unit, during which Apollo bought a controlling stake in 2019. Your chance you can do in September or later, the trainer told us.

Apollo and Lazard declined to comment, while Rothschild did not have any immediate comment.

France has witnessed few IPOs recently and some deals, such as that of logistics firm Gefco, have been pulled resulting from wobbly market conditions. Tourism group Club Med's parent chose Hong Kong to its listing.

Among the experienced before large French companies which could seek a average market listing at the moment is state-owned lottery firm Francaise des Jeux, a stake whereby could possibly be sold beneath a law published in 2009.

Across Europe initial public offerings slumped from the first quarter on their lowest because the aftermath within the 2008 financial meltdown, as uncertainty over Brexit and also the U.S.- China trade dispute left companies often unwilling to place chances.

Verallia is anticipated to write core earnings (EBITDA) of roughly 550 million euros this year and could be valued at between 7 and 8 times that in a potential IPO, the sources said.

Peers such as Vetropack, Owens-Illinois (NYSE:OI) or Vidrala trade a wide range of 2.7 to 9.Four times EBITDA.

Apollo bought many Verallia within a 2019 deal valuing the company at 2.95 billion euros. It made 16 billion glass bottles and jars last year and is particularly the principle supplier of bottles for France's champagne and cognac industries.

In 2018, the business – which employs nearly 10,000 people – generated 544 million euros in adjusted EBITDA on sales of two.4 billion.

Earlier this month, Verallia announced the early repayment of a few of its debt, citing solid earnings generation, pushing its net debt due to 1.7 billion euros or 3.1 times core 2018 earnings.