Owens-Illinois Inc. has agreed to buy Vitro S.A.B. de C.V.'s
food and beverage glass container business for $2.15 billion in
cash, a move that will give Owens-Illinois a foothold in the
Mexican glass-packaging market.
Vitro is the largest supplier of glass containers in Mexico. The
deal includes five plants in Mexico and one in Bolivia, with a
total of 4,700 employees
Owens-Illinois expects the deal to add 50 cents to its per-share
earnings in the third year after closing and to generate annual
revenue of $945 million. The deal is expected to close within a
year.
The deal comes as Owens-Illinois, the world's largest maker of
bottles for beer, wine and liquor, looks for new growth. In recent
years, the company has cut costs, shed non-core businesses and
lodged itself into China's fast-growing market in recent years.
But its revenue has suffered as mass-market brewers put more of
their beer in cans and as economies in Europe and China
sputter.
Owens-Illinois has cut back operations in China and Australia,
while also betting on the popularity of Mexican lagers. Through a
joint venture, Owens-Illinois has announced plans to invest about
$275 million to expand a plant in Nava, Mexico, that makes bottles
for Corona Extra and related beers.
Write to Chelsey Dulaney at Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com
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