US buyout fund Carlyle Group will buy a majority holding in a joint venture of Nippon Sheet Glass Co. and Hoya Corp. that makes LCD glass substrates.
The two Japanese firms each own 50% of NH Techno …
US buyout fund Carlyle Group will buy a majority holding in a joint venture of Nippon Sheet Glass Co. and Hoya Corp. that makes LCD glass substrates. The two Japanese firms each own 50% of NH Techno Glass Corp. Nippon Sheet Glass will sell its entire interest to Carlyle, while Hoya will keep most of its stake. The leveraged buyout is estimated at JPY 100-140 billion, including debt. The fund will procure up to JPY 90 billion or so through syndicate financing led by Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and Mizuho Corporate Bank. Plans call for NH Techno Glass to eventually go public. Only four firms manufacture LCD substrates: US firm Corning Inc., Asahi Glass Co., Nippon Electric Glass Co. and NH Techno Glass. While the market continues to expand, price competition is intensifying. With its debt burden from the acquisition of UK glassmaker Pilkington Group Ltd., Nippon Sheet Glass had sought to leave the business as part of a broader reorganization. Hoya, which positions the operation as a growth segment, sees access to Carlyle“s financial resources boosting the corporate value of NH Techno Glass.