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New Zealand's Rank Group is raising a syndicated loan to finance its purchase of Swiss packaging group SIG , banking sources said today.
Rank Group gained EU approval on Thursday to buy SIG, beating Norwegian competitor Ferd Industrial Holding's Elopak unit, which mounted a bid together with private equity group CVC.
Credit Suisse will be the sole arranger of the leveraged loan backing the deal, sources said.
Rank, which already owned a 22 per cent stake in SIG, upped its own cash offer to 435 francs per share on Monday, topping Ferd's bid of 400 francs.
Rank's bid valued the group at US2.8 billion francs ($3.3 billion). Rank is owned by Graeme Hart, New Zealand's richest man.
Rank is a market leader in cardboard and packaging in Australia and New Zealand. SIG is one of the world's largest food and drink packagers.
The loan financing will be launched shortly, sources said.
- REUTERS
