Blackstone poised to buy Piramal Glass for US$ 1bn

• The deal could be announced as soon as in coming weeks
• Blackstone seeking about US $400 million loan to fund buyout

BLOOMBERG: Blackstone Group Inc. has agreed to acquire the glass unit of Indian conglomerate Piramal Enterprises Ltd. for about US$1 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The transaction could be announced as soon as in the next few weeks, one of the people said, asking not to be identified as the details are private. The U.S. private equity giant is in talks with banks for about a US$ 400 million, five-year loan to fund the deal, another person said. Piramal Enterprises is looking to sell some non-core businesses to boost capital. In June, the group agreed to sell a 20 percent stake in Piramal Pharma Ltd. to private equity firm Carlyle Group Inc. for US$ 490 million, giving the business an enterprise value of US$ 2.7 billion.

Representatives for Piramal and Blackstone declined to comment.

Piramal Glass makes glass packaging and has factories in the U.S., India and Sri Lanka with a total capacity of 1,475 tons per day, according to its website. The former Gujarat Glass was acquired by Piramal Group in 1984.
Shares of Piramal Enterprises have fallen about 8.4 percent this year in Mumbai, giving the company a market value of about US$ 4.2 billion.