Shearman & Sterling is representing Ardagh Glass Group S.A. and its subsidiaries in its €1.7 billion acquisition of Impress Coöperatieve U.A., the holding company of the Impress group. Impress is a global metal packaging company with annual revenues of €1.8 billion, operating 57 facilities in 22 countries across five continents and employing 7,500 people. Ardagh is currently the third largest glass packaging manufacturer in Europe with revenues of €1.2 billion, operating 24 facilities in seven countries. It employs 6,500 people and provides glass packaging solutions to the food and beverage industry. The completion of the acquisition is subject to customary regulatory approvals.
In connection with the acquisition, Ardagh issued €1.1 billion high yield notes (comprising €825 million first priority senior secured notes due 2017 and €275 million senior notes due 2020) and $800 million high yield notes (comprising $350 million first priority secured notes due 2017 and $450 million senior notes due 2020). The proceeds from the offering of the notes, which were placed in escrow pending the completion of the acquisition, will be used by Ardagh to finance the purchase price for the acquisition and to refinance certain of Ardagh's existing credit facilities and substantially all of Impress's existing indebtedness.
The Shearman & Sterling team of lawyers advising on the acquisition was led by partner George Karafotias and the team advising on the financing was led by finance partner Anthony Ward assisted by counsel Peter Hayes. Senior associate Apostolos Gkoutzinis led the capital markets team that advised on the issuance of the high yield notes.
They were assisted by associates Lucy Graham, Jonathan Handyside, Emi Zakrzewski, Paul Beck, Adam Samarillo, Jennifer Ng, James Simpson and Victoria Gillam and trainees Henry Ovens and Jack Prytherch. The team also included other lawyers from the firm's London office as well as lawyers based in the firm's Paris, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Milan and New York offices: partners Mei Lian, Bertrand Senechal, Fabio Fauceglia, Alfred Kossmann and Esther Jansen, counsels Sam Whitaker, Mehran Massih, Deborah Lincoln and Simon Letherman, associates Lucy Keeble, Vieri Parigi, Amy Lewis, Leona McManus, James Leslie, Timothy Franklin, Nick Mumby, Pierre Treille, Marzio Ciani, John Delamere, Shane Burke and Sebastian Cohnen.