NEW YORK, April 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- KPS Capital Partners, LP ("KPS") announced today that, through a newly formed affiliate, it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire Anchor Glass Container Corporation and its affiliates ("Anchor Glass" or the "Company") from Ardagh Holdings USA Inc.  Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Anchor Glass is a leading North American manufacturer of premium glass packaging products for the beer, liquor, food, beverage and ready-to-drink end markets.  The Company is headquartered in Tampa, Florida and employs approximately 2,000 people, with six manufacturing facilities located in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Minnesota, New York and Oklahoma, in addition to an engineering and spare parts facility in Illinois and a mold manufacturing facility in Ohio. 

Jay Bernstein, a Partner of KPS, said, "Anchor Glass presents a tremendous investment opportunity.  Anchor Glass is a leading North American manufacturer of premium glass packaging products with long-standing customer relationships and a widely recognized reputation for product quality, customer service and product innovation.  The Company is uniquely positioned to supply the rapidly expanding craft beer and premium liquor segments of the glass packaging market.  Our investment is the first step in creating a thriving enterprise in the glass packaging industry, and we intend to aggressively grow the Anchor Glass platform both organically and through acquisitions on a global scale.  We look forward to working with Chief Executive Officer Jim Fredlake and all of Anchor Glass' employees to catalyze the next phase of Anchor Glass' growth."

Jim Fredlake, Chief Executive Officer of Anchor Glass, said, "The entire Anchor Glass team enthusiastically welcomes the opportunity to become an independent company under KPS' ownership.  We are committed to achieving total customer satisfaction and KPS' focus on manufacturing excellence and significant capital resources to support our growth initiatives will position Anchor Glass for success over the long term.  We will continue to provide our customers with industry-leading product quality, product innovation and the highest levels of service and support."

Completion of the transaction is expected during the second or third quarter of 2014 and is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison LLP is serving as legal counsel to KPS.  Financing for the transaction will be provided by a syndicate of banks and institutional investors with UBS Investment Bank and RBC Capital Markets acting as Lead Arrangers.

About Anchor Glass Container Corporation

Anchor Glass is a leading North American manufacturer of premium glass packaging products. Anchor Glass has long-standing relationships with blue chip companies across the beer, liquor, food, beverage, ready-to-drink and consumer end-markets.  The Company is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, and employs approximately 2,000 people, with six manufacturing facilities located in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Minnesota, New York and Oklahoma, in addition to an engineering and spare parts facility in Illinois and a mold manufacturing facility in Ohio.

About KPS Capital Partners, LP

KPS is the manager of the KPS Special Situations Funds, a family of investment funds with over $6.0 billion of assets under management.  KPS seeks to realize significant capital appreciation by making controlling equity investments in companies across a diverse range of manufacturing industries.  The KPS investment strategy is based primarily upon partnering with top management teams and improving the operations of businesses.  Thereafter, upon achieving stability and profitability, KPS focuses on growing its businesses, both organically and through strategic acquisitions.  KPS portfolio companies have aggregate annual revenues of approximately $7.0 billion, operate 93 manufacturing facilities in 26 countries, and employ over 37,000 associates, directly and through joint ventures worldwide.  The KPS investment strategy and portfolio companies are described in detail at www.kpsfund.com.

SOURCE KPS Capital Partners, LP