By Inti Landauro
French construction material firm Saint-Gobain SA (SGO.FR)
Thursday said it formally accepted the $1.69 billion offer made by
Ardagh Group for the U.S. unit of Verallia, the French company's
bottle and jar subsidiary.
With the acquisition of the U.S. unit of Verallia,
Luxembourg-based Ardagh, which makes Absolut Vodka bottles, will
overtake the largest glass-bottle maker worldwide, Perrysburg,
Ohio's Owens-Illinois Inc. (OI), in its home country.
Saint-Gobain had planned to spin off its glass bottler in order
to focus on its building-materials business, but deteriorating
financial markets scuppered the deal. Saint-Gobain plans to sell
the remaining assets of Verallia, through an initial public
offering or through an outright sale, the French firm's chief
executive, Pierre-Andre de Chalendar, said Monday.
The announcement of the sale boosted Saint-Gobain's share price
Monday.
The sale still needs the approval of U.S. antitrust
authorities.
Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@dowjones.com
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