News
Brait eyes bottle maker float SOUTH AFRICA South African investment firm Brait is preparing to float glass bottle maker Consol, in a deal which could value the company at around $1.2 billion, two sources familiar with the matter have said. Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch are working on the listing, along with South African banks RMB and Standard Bank, who will market the deal to domestic investors, the sources said. The flotation of the Johannesburg-headquar tered business is likely to come in the third quarter of next year, one of the sources added, cautioning that no deal was certain.
Goldman Sachs, BofA Merrill Lynch and Standard Bank declined to comment. Brait and RMB did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Consol is the leading glass packaging manufacturer in Southern Africa, producing everything from wine and beer bottles to mayonnaise jars, according to its website. Brait, which bought UK clothing retailer New Look earlier this year in a $1.2 billion deal, has owned Consol since it led a consortium to delist the company in 2007. Consol has core earnings (EBITDA) of around 1.5 billion
South African rand ($105.81 million) and could fetch around 12 times that, one of the sources said, noting that the ongoing weakness of the South African rand could depress valuations. Although the unit could be sold, the buyer list for the asset is thin, they added. In June, private equity firm Apollo won an auction for Verallia, the glass bottle unit of Saint Gobain. That deal valued the business at an earnings multiple of 7.4 times EBITDA and 12.8 times EBIT. A listing of Consol would be a sizeable transaction for the Johannesburg Stock Exchange,
which has seen six initial public offerings (IPOs) this year raising $305.7 million, according to Thomson Reuters data. Brait, which is also listed in Luxembourg, is controlled by South African billionaire Christo Wiese. The vehicle has been on something of an acquisition spree of late. In April it spent $1 billion on a controlling stake in gym group Virgin Active, which was jointly owned by entrepreneur Richard Branson's Virgin Group and buyout firm CVC. Other assets include British frozen food supermarket Iceland.
Glaston closes deal for three FC500™ furnaces UNITED STATES Glaston Corporation has closed a significant deal with U.S based Trulite Glass & Aluminium Solutions for three FC500™ tempering furnaces including iControL Quantum™ Automation and Reporting system and Glaston Care service agreements. The order is split between the Q3 and Q4 2015 order book. The machines are delivered during the first and second quarters in 2016. In addition to the FC500™ furnace deal the parties have earlier agreed on major upgrades for two Glassrobots’ machines as well as on other machine upgrades and relocations. Trulite Glass & Aluminum Solutions is one of North America’s largest architectural glass and aluminum fabricators. The company manufactures and distributes architectural aluminum, insulated units, mirrors, tempered, laminated, and decorative glass from their 28 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. ‘It was a true pleasure to meet with Trulite’s top Management at Glass Build America in Atlanta, and hear the obvious excitement they have for the future growth of their operations, and how Glaston plays a significant role in this“, says Arto Metsänen, Glaston Corporation’s President & CEO. “Trulite Glass & Aluminum Solutions is very excited to build on
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our partnership with a true leader in convection furnace technology. Glaston continues to raise the bar with industry leading solutions that produce superior optical surface quality in high performance glass products. Along with these investments Trulite is also well underway with 4 other Glaston furnace projects and we look forward to a mutually beneficial partnership. Our success together is based on providing superior quality flat glass products to meet and or exceed our customer’s needs”, says Paul Mahedy, Executive Vice President, Trulite Glass and Aluminum Solutions. Launched in 2011, the Glaston FC500™ tempering line has gained a solid position on the market. Glaston Corporation has closed a significant deal with U.S based Trulite Glass & Aluminium Solutions for three FC500™ tempering furnaces including iControL Quantum™ Automation and Reporting system and Glaston Care service agreements. The order is split between the Q3 and Q4 2015 order book. The machines are delivered during the first and second quarters in 2016. In addition to the FC500™ furnace deal the parties have earlier agreed on major upgrades for two Glassrobots’ machines as well as on other machine upgrades and relocations.
asianglass december/january 2016
Trulite Glass & Aluminum Solutions is one of North America’s largest architectural glass and aluminum fabricators. The company manufactures and distributes architectural aluminum, insulated units, mirrors, tempered, laminated, and decorative glass from their 28 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. ‘It was a true pleasure to meet with Trulite’s top Management at Glass Build America in Atlanta, and hear the obvious excitement they have for the future growth of their operations, and how Glaston plays a significant role in this“, says Arto Metsänen, Glaston Corporation’s President & CEO. “Trulite Glass & Aluminum Solutions is very excited to build on our partnership with a true leader in convection furnace technology. Glaston continues to raise the bar with industry leading solutions that produce superior optical surface quality in high performance glass products. Along with these investments Trulite is also well underway with 4 other Glaston furnace projects and we look forward to a mutually beneficial partnership. Our success together is based on providing superior quality flat glass products to meet and or exceed our customer’s needs”, says Paul Mahedy, Executive Vice President, Trulite Glass and
Aluminum Solutions. Launched in 2011, the Glaston FC500™ tempering line has gained a solid position on the market.
NEWS IN BRIEF As a leading company in glass processing technologies, Glaston Corporation is taking a new step with an investment in a California-based nanotechnology company that develops new glass technology solutions. Glaston will acquire 12 per cent of the company’s shares and serve as the preferred equipment partner. In addition, Glaston has agreed on the delivery of engineering resources and equipment to the company in the value of over EUR 2 million. The engineering resources and equipment will be delivered during 2016. The first smart glass production lines related to this new nanotechnology solution are expected to be ready for commercial use in around 2020 at the latest. Glaston will be the exclusive supplier of thin glass heat treatment furnaces with respect to these production lines.
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