A canny $6.6bn deal? Ball Corp in talks to buy UK rival Rexam
Rexam, which is headquartered in London, supplies companies including PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Company, AB InBev, Carlsberg Group, and Heineken.
Ball, which manufactures 65bn recyclable aluminium and steel cans worldwide every year (alongside divisions in food and household products), has until March 5 to decide whether it will make a formal offer.
Both companies have acknowledged the discussions but say there can be no certainty any formal offer will be forthcoming.
The proposal values Rexam at 610 pence per share.
The three biggest global can manufacturers are Rexam, Ball, and Crown. It is believed a deal between Rexam and Ball would help the two companies deal with rising aluminium costs.
In May 2014 Rexam sold its pharmaceutical devices and prescription retail packaging divisions of its healthcare business to Montagu Private Equity for a total cash consideration of $805m, in order to focus on beverage packaging.
More than 30% of its sales come from emerging markets. Last month it completed the acquisition of beverage can maker United Arab Can Manufacturing (UAC) for $122m.
