Rexam Agrees to Ball Takeover

LONDON-- Rexam PLC on Thursday said it had agreed to be bought by rival can maker Ball Corp. in a deal valuing the company at around GBP4.4 billion ($6.7 billion).

Rexam said it is recommending to shareholders an offer that values its shares at 628 pence, consisting of 407 pence in cash and 0.04568 of a new Ball share. The company, whose customers include Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc., said earlier this month it was in discussions with Ball about a 610 pence a share offer.

The deal will combine two of the world's largest can makers, which together with Philadelphia-based Crown Holdings Inc., account for more than 60% of global beverage can volumes, and close to 90% in Europe, North and South America, according to Rexam's website.

Analysts have expressed concern the deal could run into regulatory problems because of the companies' high market shares in territories such as the U.S., Europe and Brazil.

Ball said in a separate statement that while the transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals, it expects that the necessary clearances will be obtained in the first half of 2016.

Ball said the two companies have complementary product offerings and strong cultural compatibility, and that the combined company would have pro forma 2014 revenue of about $15 billion and approximately 22,500 employees across five continents.

The U.S. company said the deal would achieve $300 million of synergies by 2018, cutting costs in areas such as administration, sourcing and freight and logistics.

News of the higher offer came as Rexam reported a net profit of GBP357 million for the year ended Dec. 31, up from GBP95 million the previous year, despite lower revenue of GBP3.83 billion, compared with GBP3.94 billion in 2013.

Write to Rory Gallivan at [e-mail]

Corrections & Amplifications

Ball's offer values Rexam at about GBP4.4 billion, or $6.7 billion. A previous version of this article gave an incorrect currency conversion of $6.7 million.

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