Australia’s Orora confirms talks to buy French glass bottles maker Saverglass

(Reuters) – Australian packaging firm Orora Ltd confirmed on Wednesday it was in advanced discussions regarding a potential acquisition of French high-end glass bottles manufacturer Saverglass SAS.

“The negotiations will take some days to finalise due to a number of factors including the size and global nature of the target business,” Orora said in a statement, while requesting a voluntary suspension of trading in its shares on the Australian bourse.

Earlier this week, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported that Orora was in late-stage negotiations to acquire Saverglass, and that Citi and Macquarie Capital are advising the company on a A$1 billion ($646.5 million) capital raising to fund the deal.

Shares of Orora were placed on a trading halt on Monday. The voluntary suspension would remain in place until earlier than commencement of trading on Sept. 1, or Friday, or when Orora requests for the voluntary suspension otherwise be lifted, the company said.

Established more than a century ago in France, Saverglass manufactures and decorates high-end glass bottles for wines and spirits, and recorded total sales of 786 million euros ($854.07 million) in fiscal 2022.

($1 = 1.5468 Australian dollars)

($1 = 0.9203 euros)

(Reporting by Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Sameer Manekar; Editing by Rashmi Aich)