OCTAL, the Sultanate’s leading plastics packaging manufacturer, might be looking for pitches form banks to play advisors for its potential capital raising through an equity sale, according to a Reuters report that has quoted three sources, would refused to be identified.
According to the anonymous sources, the pitches are set to take place in London next week. While one source said the company was seeking a partner such as a private equity company, that could help the company go public in the future, another one said that it is was looking at hiring a sell-side adviser and will consider a minority or even a majority share sale. Company is hoping to be valued at up to $700mn, according to a third source.
In a statement to Reuters, OCTAL said, it “seeks to raise up to $150mn to bring in a strategic partner for further development of its highly profitable virgin and recycled PET packaging business. The company is in discussion with a number of potential advisers to assist it in these endeavours.”
The Reuters report also quoted a source as saying that Bank Muscat, which has a 5% share in the company, may exit as part of the deal, if the valuation of the firm is favourable.
Earlier, this year, OCTAL secured $625 million of banking facilities comprising a syndicated term loan facility of US$ 225 million and working capital facilities aggregating to US$ 400 million in one of the biggest private sector financing deals in Oman of the last decade. Last year it pulled a planned $300 million debut bond amid volatile emerging markets.
The world’s leading clear rigid packaging material supplier, OCTAL also announced earlier this year that would be investing around $50mn in its PET Sheet business in Oman.
The company’s main product is its patented DPET sheet, which it developed and introduced to the market in 2008 as a cutting-edge alternative to the traditional PET sheet. The company is tapping into a global market size that currently stands at 59.3 million tonnes, offering a product that is fully recyclable, clear and transparent, and the first and only direct-to-sheet polyester sheet in the world.
The manufacturer currently contributes approximately 6.5% to Oman’s non-oil exports and is committed to creating long-term value for the country that extends beyond diversification, positioning the Sultanate at the forefront of the manufacturing industry and a hub of excellence for knowledge-transfer and innovative technology in sustainable and environmentally responsible rigid packaging solutions.
