State’s largest private company on verge of IPO

Berry Plastics Group Inc., the largest private company in Indiana, may set terms for its initial public offering as soon as this week, said two people with knowledge of the matter.

Berry, a container maker owned by funds tied to Apollo Global Management LLC, may seek a market value of about $2 billion in the sale, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the process is private. Bank of America Corp. is leading the offering, the sources said.

The company, which makes consumer packaging ranging from drink cups to prescription vials, filed for a $500 million IPO in March. Apollo, based in New York, and Graham Partners Inc. agreed to acquire Berry’s parent, BPC Holding Corp., in a $2.25 billion deal in 2006 from the private-equity units of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The Evansville-based company, which has completed 11 acquisitions in the past six years, will use the IPO proceeds to repay debt, regulatory filings show. Long-term borrowings totaled $4.5 billion as of June 30.

Berry Plastics was founded in Indiana in 1967. It had revenue of $4.7 billion in fiscal year 2011. It has about 16,000 employees, with more than 2,600 of those in Indiana.

Citigroup Inc., Barclays Plc and Deutsche Bank AG will help manage the offering, according to the people familiar with the situation. The stock sold in the IPO will be equivalent to a 25-percent stake in the company, they said.

The net loss at Berry narrowed to $20 million in the nine months through June 30, compared with a loss of $107 million a year earlier, the filings show. Sales in the period were $3.6 billion.

Apollo-affilitated funds will maintain a majority stake in Berry after the IPO, according to the company’s filing.