NZX listed Nuplex has spent $129m buying a German resin company. File photo / Paul Estcourt
Resins maker Nuplex Industries said today that it had agreed to buy Viverso GmbH, and its related operations and product groups, from Bayer MaterialScience (BMS) for 75 million euro ($NZ129 million).
Viverso makes resins used in coatings and putties from a facility in Bitterfeld, Germany.
Nuplex, based in Penrose, Auckland,
said the acquisition would be 100 per cent debt-funded. The company said it had secured an additional debt facility of A$100 million to increase its total debt facilities from A$200m to A$300m, and was exploring options to convert some of it into long-term debt through the US private placement market.
Following completion, Nuplex's net debt will be around $210m. Nuplex's gearing ratio, as measured by the ratio of net debt to net debt plus equity, will increase to 27 per cent from the June 30 level of 12 per cent and remain within the levels the company considers appropriate.
The transaction is subject to German regulatory approval, and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
