Ardagh Group raises $319m in New York flotation

Glass and metal containers giant went public on New York Stock Exchange on March 14th

Ardagh Group said on Tuesday it has closed its previously announced initial public offering, raising about $319 million (€295 million) in net proceeds from the deal.

The glass and metal containers giant floated on the New York Stock Exchange on March 14th, issuing 16,200,000 Class A common shares at $19 a share, equivalent to a 6.9 per cent stake, as well as the sale of an additional 2,430,000 Class A common shares. This means that Ardagh now has 236,326,000 shares in issue.

The company floated on the New York Stock Exchange on March 14th, with its shares surging by more than 21 per cent on its first day of trading.

Ardagh is led Paul Coulson, whose 33.5 per cent stake following the share sale is valued at about $1.78 billion. Mr Coulson had been planning a flotation of Ardagh since at least 2011, having taken the company private in 2003, a year after closing its original Ringsend bottle plant in Dublin.

Fiona Reddan

Fiona Reddan

Fiona Reddan is a writer specialising in personal finance and is the Home & Design Editor of The Irish Times