Ball Corp. Purchasing Assets from Alcan

Alcan Inc. has reached an agreement to sell selected assets of its North American Packaging Plastic Bottle business to Ball Corp. for $180 million. The sale is part of Alcan Packaging's ongoing refocusing of its global activities on selected growth segments.

"With this sale, Alcan Packaging takes another significant step in our continued strategy of focusing resources on markets where we enjoy scale and leadership positions," said Christel Bories, president and CEO, Alcan Packaging.

The assets to be sold include operations in Batavia, Ill.; Bellevue, Ohio; Newark, Calif.; and Brampton, Ontario. The sale does not include Alcan Packaging's pharmaceutical plastic bottle operations. The acquisition also includes Alcan’s Neenah, Wis., research facility.

The transaction is expected to be complete by the end of the first quarter of this year.

"This acquisition enables Ball to supply a broad range of blue chip customers, some of whom are new to us and some of whom know Ball well through our metal food container operations. In addition, these manufacturing plants complement our existing plastic container operations and offer some significant technology opportunities," said R. David Hoover, Ball’s chairman, president and CEO.