Berry Plastics to buy speciality fabric firm Avintiv

Berry Plastics has secured committed debt financing to fund the transaction and expects to utilize the strong, recession-resistant free cash flow of the combined business to reduce leverage following the transaction. Additionally, subject to market conditions, Berry will consider raising a modest amount of equity to result in a net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio of approximately 5 times, according to a press release.

Credit Suisse and Barclays acted as financial advisors and Bryan Cave acted as legal advisor for Berry Plastics. Citi and BofA Merrill Lynch acted as financial advisors and Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett LLP acted as legal advisor for Avintiv and Blackstone.

Jon Rich, chairman and CEO of Berry Plastics said, “We are extremely excited to welcome the team and global capabilities of Avintiv to the Berry organization. The combination of Berry Plastics and Avintiv creates a global leader in plastics packaging and engineered specialty materials with enhanced technology, material and commercial capabilities to more broadly serve our customers.”

Joel Hackney, Avintiv's chief executive officer, said, “Avintiv has made tremendous progress advancing our mission to create a safer, cleaner, and healthier world. Joining Berry creates an ideal platform to expand into new adjacencies, strengthen our current capabilities, and bring new innovations to our customers. Our employees' hard work and dedication has enabled us to deliver consistent growth and margin expansion and will continue to play a critical role in the success of Berry.” (GK)

ALCHEMPro News Desk – India