PARIS--Glass and metal packaging company Ardagh Glass Ltd. has
made a "binding and irrevocable" offer of $1.69 billion for the
North American unit of Verallia, the maker of glass bottles and
jars that belongs to French conglomerate Compagnie de Saint-Gobain
SA (SGO.FR), both companies said Monday in separate statements.
"If the deal is completed, the sale proceeds will be used mainly
to strengthen the Group's balance sheet, while pursuing its
acquisition policy focused on small- or medium-sized targets,"
Saint-Gobain's Chief Executive Pierre-Andre de Chalendar said in
the statement.
Verallia North America, the second largest glass packaging maker
in the U.S. after Owens Illinois Inc. (OI), posted an operating
profit of $171 million in 2012 from a $1.62 billion revenue, Saint
Gobain said in its statement.
Saint-Gobain will make a decision on the offer after the company
consults its personnel. The transaction will be subject to the
authorization of U.S. anti-trust regulators.
In 2011, the French company had announced a plan to spin off
Verallia through an initial public offering, though its management
later decided to shelve the plan as market conditions weren't
favorable.
-Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@dowjones.com
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