EU Clears Path for Ball, Rexam Acquisition to Proceed
June 20 2016 - 7:50AM
Dow Jones News
BRUSSELS—The European Union on Monday cleared packaging company
Ardagh SA's roughly $3.42 billion acquisition of assets belonging
to Ball Corp. and Rexam PLC, clearing the way for the beverage
can-makers' merger.
The European Commission, the bloc's antitrust agency, said in a
statement that it "concluded that the proposed acquisition would
raise no competition concerns, because Ardagh is not active in the
manufacturing of beverage cans, nor on related markets."
In January, the EU waived through Ball Corp.'s £ 4.4 billion
($4.96 billion) acquisition of rival beverage-can maker Rexam PLC
after Ball agreed to sell 12 production plants in Europe. The EU
had opened an in-depth investigation into the deal, over concerns
the combination of the world's two biggest can makers could drive
up prices for their products in the bloc.
Ball announced in April it would sell its European, U.S. and
Brazilian assets to Luxembourg-based Ardagh.
Ball is selling seven Rexam metal beverage can manufacturing
plants and one Rexam end plant in the U.S.; eight Ball beverage can
manufacturing plants, two Ball end plants and two Rexam beverage
can manufacturing plants in Europe; two Ball beverage can
manufacturing plants in Brazil; and certain functions in Bonn,
Germany, Chester, U.K., Zurich, Switzerland, Sã o Paulo, Brazil,
and Chicago and Elk Grove, Ill.
Earlier this year, Ball and Rexam said they expected the merger
to close by the end of June.
Write to Natalia Drozdiak at natalia.drozdiak@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 20, 2016 07:35 ET (11:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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