One of the world's largest plastics housewares companies may soon have a new private equity owner.
Diverse Israeli housewares giant Keter Plastic Ltd. is being eyed by three private equity funds, according to a Reuters report.
Keter Plastic's owner Sami Sagol and advisers selected Carlyle Group, BC Partners and CVC Capital Partners to submit bids before summer, undisclosed sources told Reuters, according to a May 6 report.
A potential deal could be valued at about $1.5 billion, Reuters reported. A deal of that size would value the company at more than 10 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $130 million to $150 million.
Carlyle, headquartered in Washington, manages about $58 billion in assets. BC Partners of London manages investments worth more than 100 billion euros ($114 billion). CVC Capital Partners based in Luxembourg manages more that $52 billion in assets.
A Bloomberg report in February had indicated another possible suitor was Apax Partners LLP, with main offices in New York and London.
Keter Plastic of Herzelia, Israel, runs several subsidiaries globally making plastic storage systems and other houseware items, outdoor furniture, garden sheds and related plastic products. Its brand names include Allibert, Curver and Hovac. It runs 29 plants in Israel, Europe and the United States. One of its U.S. plants, in Anderson, Ind., expanded in 2014.
Keter Plastic is part of Keter Group, which reports sales of more than $1 billion annually from products distributed to 25,000 retail outlets around the world.
Rothschild Group reportedly is helping Sagol find a buyer for the business, which was founded in 1948.
The reported $1.5 billion price for Keter is far lower than a much larger recent deal in the plastics housewares market. Newell Rubbermaid Inc. recently closed on a merger with Jarden Corp. that valued Jarden at $15.4 billion, including debt. Those two firms are much larger than Keter — the combined Newell Rubbermaid and Jarden have EBITDA of $3 billion on annual sales of $16 billion.
