By Greg Roumeliotis
March 1 (Reuters) - Ardagh Group, the packagingconglomerate controlled by Irish billionaire Paul Coulson, ispreparing a binding offer for the assets being divested bydrinks can makers Ball Corp and Rexam Plc,according to people familiar with the matter.
Ardagh Group is competing against three private equity firmsfor the packaging plants up for sale, the people said this week.The strong interest in these assets increases chances thatBall's pending acquisition of Rexam will meetconditions set by antitrust authorities.
Ardagh Group and buyout firms Blackstone Group LP,Apollo Global Management LLC and Madison DearbornPartners LLC have reached the final round of bidding for theassets, the people said. Binding bids are due later this month,they added.
Based on annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciationand amortization of around $450 million, the assets beingdivested will likely be valued at between $3 billion and $4billion in any deal, the people said.
The sources asked not to be identified because details ofthe sale process are confidential. Ball, Rexam, Blackstone,Apollo and Madison Dearborn declined to comment, while ArdaghGroup did not immediately respond.
Ball and Rexam have offered to sell 12 plants across Europe,ten of which make cans while two produce can ends. Four of thefactories are in Germany and three in Britain. Separately, Ballis selling about eight sites in the United States and several inBrazil, also due to antitrust concerns.
The world's two largest beverage can makers by volume, whichsupply Coca-Cola Co and Anheuser-Busch InBev, want to merge to better manage capital spending and cut costs.
The European Commission, however, launched an extensivereview of the deal, fearing it could push up prices forcompanies and consumers.
Based in Luxemburg, Ardagh Group is a supplier of glass andmetal containers. It operates 89 manufacturing facilities across21 countries, and has global sales of approximately $6.2billion.
If successful, the deal would be the most significantacquisition by Ardagh Group since its $1.7 billion agreement in2013 to acquire Verallia North America, the U.S. jar unit ofFrance's Saint-Gobain.
Credit ratings agency Moody's Investors Service Inccautioned in August that Ardagh should not engage in furthersignificant debt-financed acquisition activity until operationalstability had been achieved following the integration ofVerallia North America.
Late last year, Ardagh Group pulled the initial publicoffering of Odessa, its metals packaging division, citingchallenging market conditions. (Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by MatthewLewis)
