German glass packaging manufacturer Gerresheimer Glas, which is being sold by J.P. Morgan Partners and Investcorp, has attracted the attention of private equity firms Blackstone and Apax and at least …
German glass packaging manufacturer Gerresheimer Glas, which is being sold by J.P. Morgan Partners and Investcorp, has attracted the attention of private equity firms Blackstone and Apax and at least one trade buyer, sources close to the process said on 8 September 2004. Gerresheimer was jointly bought by J.P. Morgan Partners, the private equity arm of US investment bank J.P. Morgan Chase & Co, and Bahrain-based global investment bank Investcorp, in 2000. J.P. Morgan is managing the sale, and is also offering financing to potential purchasers. “There is a process going on. They might not sell it; they“re trying to find out if someone“s willing to pay them a big enough price,” said a source. Another source said other private equity firms were also likely to express an interest in the business. Gerresheimer Glas has annual sales of around EUR 550 million. It makes bottles and containers for beer, soft drinks, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals as well as other scientific, laboratory, and medical glassware. Gerresheimer“s original purchase was supported with a EUR 226 million (USD 272 million) and USD 145 million loan that was led by Chase, Goldman Sachs and UBS Warburg. The loan was restructured to include more subordinated debt after banks protested at a long debt maturity. Investcorp twice tried to issue a high-yield bond to repay the subordinated debt, but poor market conditions forced it to cancel both attempts. In March 2004, Standard and Poor“s cut the rating outlook from stable to negative, because of weaker than expected cash flows. The bank loan is rated BB-.