Carlyle Weighs Exit From $1.2 Billion Packaging Firm Logoplaste

Carlyle Group Inc. is considering options for Logoplaste, including a potential sale that could value the Portuguese plastic-packaging firm at more than 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion), people with knowledge of the matter said.

The U.S. buyout firm has picked Barclays Plc and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to advise on its review of the business, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. A potential sale process could begin after the summer and would likely draw interest from rival packaging firms and other private equity funds, the people said.

Logoplaste, founded in 1976, makes packaging products for companies including food group Kraft Heinz Co., alcohol producer Diageo Plc and cosmetics maker L’Oreal SA. It manages more than 60 plants across 16 countries and generates revenue of more than 500 million euros, according to a 2019 company report.

Carlyle invested about 660 million euros in Logoplaste in 2016, one of the people said. Since then it has worked to grow the company’s packaging facilities in Europe and the Americas. Logoplaste intends to continue expanding, including through potential acquisitions, with any new investor that comes on board, the person said.

Buyout funds have been seeking to exit companies that still offer predictable earnings during the coronavirus pandemic so they can return some cash to their investors. Private equity firms have divested $119 billion of assets this year, down 28% from the same period in 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 

No final decisions have been made, and there’s no certainty the deliberations will lead to a transaction, the people said. Representatives for Carlyle, Barclays and Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

Source: Bloomberg

By Jan-Henrik Foerster, Dinesh Nair and Myriam Balezou

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