Orora raises Saverglass acquisition funding

Orora has successfully raised the $1.345 billion from the markets to enable it to acquire the French-based global Saverglass speciality glass bottle manufacturing business.

The $1.345 billion will be added to $875 million of debt financing the company has organised, to reach the $2.15 billion purchase price. Institutional investors pumped in $1.22 billion for the new share offering, with the retail sector providing $223 million. Some 39 per cent of existing Orora shareholders took up the offer of new shares to support the acquisition.

The new shares will be allotted on Monday, and will commence trading on Tuesday. They will rank equally with existing shares in all respects. Orora shares have lost around a quarter of their value in the past six weeks, and five per cent since the deal was announced.

Brian Lowe, CEO or Orora said, “We are pleased with the strong support shown by shareholders for the equity raising and the acquisition of Saverglass, which further strengthens our existing business, establishing Orora as a global player of scale in attractive premium segments.”

The acquisition will add more than a quarter to Orora’s revenues of $4.3 billion, with Saverglass sales reaching $1.2 billion in 2022. On a pro forma basis, the acquisition represents a 69 per cent uplift in Orora’s underlying FY23 EBITDA, taking it to around A$749 million.

Saverglass services luxury spirits and wine producers globally, and differentiates its offering through its integrated decoration capabilities. It says it has created a “well-invested” network of strategically located manufacturing operations across three continents, located in close proximity to key production regions, servicing customers in 100 countries.