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EU: Ball/Rexam merger cleared subject to divestments

By  |  January 17, 2016

The European Commission said on Friday that it had approved U.S. drinks can maker Ball Corp’s planned $6.35 billion purchase of Rexam Plc subject to the divestment of 12 plants.

“The Commission’s investigation showed that the transaction, as notified, would have reduced competition in the already concentrated markets for beverage cans and risked increasing prices for customers,” the Commission said in a statement.

Ball submitted commitments to sell 10 can body plants in Austria, Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain and two can end plants in Britain and Germany, along with Ball’s business and technical centre in Bonn, Germany.

“The Commission concluded that the commitments ensure that an important alternative supplier will remain available. They address in full the competition concerns raised on the markets for beverage cans,” the Commission said.

Full content: Reuters

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