A transaction giving Trivium Packaging an enterprise value of $3.4 billion is expected to produce just $90 million in net cash for a shareholder owning about 42% of the company, underscoring how much of a business’s sale price can be absorbed by liabilities before equity holders collect.
Ardagh Group disclosed the projected payout Monday after Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan agreed to sell its majority holding to a partnership involving Silgan Holdings and American Industrial Partners.
The imbalance becomes clearer in Trivium’s financial statements. At June 30, 2025, the packaging manufacturer reported $3.124 billion of net debt, compared with $2.534 billion at the end of 2024. Its ratio of net debt to trailing adjusted EBITDA reached 6.6 times, up from 6.1 times a year earlier.
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A subtraction using June 2025 debt gives a residual of about $276 million, but it would not be a valid closing equity valuation. The debt number predates the proposed sale by more than a year, and purchase-price adjustments, transaction expenses, and other terms have not been fully disclosed.
Ardagh originally assigned a $412 million fair value to its 42% holding when Trivium was formed in October 2019 from the combination of Ardagh’s Food & Specialty Metal Packaging operation and Ontario Teachers-backed Exal Corporation, according to its securities filings.
The $90 million estimate is far below that initial accounting measure. But it does not establish a realized loss on the original transaction. Ardagh also received about $2.6 billion of cash when it contributed its business in 2019, and intervening changes in the investment must be considered.
Ardagh said it could deploy proceeds from the proposed sale into its operations or toward debt reduction.
Under the agreement, Silgan will combine Trivium with its metal containers and food-and-beverage closures operations. The resulting Silgan Metal Containers and Closures business is expected to carry an enterprise valuation of roughly $7.3 billion.
Silgan expects $2.3 billion in cash proceeds while retaining 60% ownership. American Industrial Partners will contribute approximately $1 billion of equity for the remaining 40%. Silgan projects $225 million in synergies and at least 15% accretion to adjusted earnings per share and free cash flow.
Trivium generated $3 billion in revenue in 2025. Closing is targeted for mid-2027, subject to regulatory and other approvals.
