Ball Corp. finalizes $6.1B acquisition of rival Rexam

BROOMFIELD — Metal beverage-can manufacturing giant Ball Corp. on Thursday completed the acquisition of rival Rexam PLC, with the final purchase price coming in at $6.1 billion in cash and equity.

The deal also includes Broomfield-based Ball’s assumption of $2.4 billion of Rexam debt, as well as the divestment of about 20 plants around the world to Ardagh Group for $3.1 billion in cash to help satisfy regulators.

The deal makes Ball the largest maker of beverage cans in the world., with 18,700 employees on five continents and pro forma 2015 net sales for the combined company of about $11 billion. The company now operates 75 metal beverage manufacturing facilities and joint ventures.

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Company officials said Ball’s headquarters will remain in Broomfield, while Rexam’s London headquarters is expected to close by the end of the year. The Denver Post reports that an unspecified number of jobs will be transferred to Broomfield.

Ball chairman and CEO John Hayes said in a news release that the merger will drive more than $300 million in annual cost savings within three years.

Ball, which bases its aerospace division in Boulder, first announced its deal to acquire Rexam early last year. The firm gained regulatory approval for the deal in Europe and Brazil earlier this year, and gained final regulatory approval in the United States on Tuesday.