Blackstone open to sale of controlling stake in PGP Glass

Blackstone opens up to sale of controlling stake in PGP Glass

Private equity firm Blackstone, which was looking to sell up to 50 percent stake in its wholly owned PGP Glass Pvt Ltd (formerly known as Piramal Glass), acquired from the Piramal group in 2020, is now also considering selling a controlling stake in the company, sources aware of the development told Moneycontrol.

“While they initially started off with a plan to sell a minority stake or joint control with a 50 percent stake, they are now also having conversations with some investors for sale of a controlling stake. All options are still on the table as of now, conversations for sale of a minority stake are also on with some investors. They haven't decided one way or the other as of now. The decision will hinge on the valuation that the buyers offer,” said one of the sources cited above.

Blackstone is looking at a valuation of over $2 billion for the stake sale, the sources added.

An email sent to Blackstone did not elicit a response.

Blackstone acquired a 100 percent stake in the company from Piramal group in 2020 for a valuation of around Rs 7,000 crore.

The glass manufacturing and packaging company caters to pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and perfumery, and specialty food and beverage industries. It has two manufacturing facilities in India at Kosamba and Jambusar, in Gujarat and one in Horana in Sri Lanka. The company has a manufacturing capacity of 1310 tonnes per day (TPD) in India and an additional 300 TPD in Sri Lanka.

In FY23, PGP Glass reported a revenue of Rs 3,799.28 crore, up 34 percent from a revenue of Rs 2,838.23 crore in FY22, according to a Care Ratings report.

The company swung to profit in FY23 with a profit of Rs 57.09 crore, as against a loss of Rs 342.07 crore in FY22.

For the first six months of FY24, the company reported a revenue of Rs1,984.7 crore and a profit of Rs114.7 crore.

“The company is a leading supplier of glass bottles to the top cosmetic brands globally and derives about 45 percent of its revenues from cosmetics & perfumery industry. The company is also a market leader in manufacturing Type I pharma glass with a leading market share in the domestic market. Globally, there are only four players manufacturing this type of glass. The company has three manufacturing facilities across India and Sri Lanka and marketing distribution arms in USA, Dubai and Europe and exports to over 60 countries across the globe,” the Care Ratings report said.