Ardagh to defer Wall Street flotation until markets settle

PACKAGING GIANT Ardagh will hold off on its planned flotation on Wall Street until the markets have recovered from their latest bout of volatility.

Three months ago the €3.2 billion a year manufacturer of glass and metal containers formally told US regulators that it intended offering shares to the public and listing the company on the New York stock exchange.

Ardagh, backed by a number of Irish shareholders and Dublin businessman Paul Coulson, said at the time that it hoped to complete the public offering in the third quarter of this year.

However, a spokesman for the group confirmed yesterday that Ardagh has decided to wait until markets recover from the turmoil that gripped them this month.

While Ardagh is close to finalising the regulatory arrangements, its executives said in an investor conference call yesterday that they do not plan to go to the markets at this time.

However, the group is continuing to look at potential acquisitions, although its management cautioned yesterday that the market is difficult at the moment.

Analysts who took part in the call said that its pipeline looks good, but added that the company is mainly considering smaller acquisitions.

In the three months ended June 30th, Ardagh had sales of €854 million and earned pretax profits of €49.7 million. Its earnings before tax, interest and write-offs came to €156.5 million.

Its sales for the quarter were more than 160 per cent ahead of the €323 million recorded for the same period last year, reflecting its purchase of Impress Co-operative late in 2010, which nearly trebled the group’s size.

Ardagh manufactures glass bottles and containers, and metal packaging such as tins, used mainly by the food processing industry. It supplies known names such as such Heineken beer, John West salmon and Del Monte fruit.

Mr Coulson is the group’s biggest shareholder, but its investors also include financial institutions and private individuals.

Ardagh bought Impress Co-operative from its owner, private equity fund Doughty Hanson, last year for €1.7 billion. The move expanded the business from glass into metal packaging and transformed it into one of the biggest food and drink container manufacturers in the world.

It followed that up in 2011 with the purchase of smaller Italian rival FiPar for €125 million.

Over the last decade, Ardagh de-listed from the Irish stock exchange.