In early September 2018, private equity firm Onex (Toronto, Ontario / Canada; www.onex.com) announced plans for an IPO of SIG Combibloc (Neuhausen / Switzerland; www.sig.biz), a manufacturer of carton packaging and filling machines for food and beverages – see Plasteurope.com of 07.09.2018. Things have evidently proceeded faster than expected and SIG shares have been trading on the SIX Swiss Exchange since 28 September, with its stock market launch on 2 October. SIG priced its IPO at CHF 11.25 (EUR 9.84) per share, which was near the midpoint of the CHF 10.50-13.50 range it set in September.

SIG Combibloc issued 105m new shares, and shareholders sold 27m existing shares. Onex is expecting to raise net proceeds of approximately EUR 1 bn, to be primarily used to pay off SIG's debt, which has built up to around EUR 2.5 bn. The share price is currently approximately CHF 12. The free float is expected to amount to 41% before an over-allotment option, and approximately 47% if the over-allotment option is exercised in full. Onex and its partners are retaining majority ownership.

The Swiss cartons producer generated sales of EUR 1.67 bn in the 12 months to June 2017, and adjusted EBITDA was at EUR 480m. The company has an estimated 21% share of the market for aseptic carton packaging for milk, non-carbonated soft drinks and liquid foods.