Irish entrepreneur Paul Coulson has told Ardagh bondholders that its shareholders need a payment of at least $300mn to walk away from the debt-laden packaging giant he built through decades of acquisitions.

Ardagh Group, which is based in Luxembourg and produces glass bottles and metal cans in facilities spanning Europe, America and Africa, has been at the centre of contentious restructuring negotiations about more than $10bn of debt built up in the era of cheap money and low interest rates.

After Ardagh announced in May that talks had broken down about a restructuring in which Coulson — the group’s former chair who has voting control of its shares — would retain a stake, discussions have shifted to whether the Irish entrepreneur and other shareholders would hand over the whole company in exchange for a one-off payment.