Ball mum on Rexam acquisition talks as shares hit 52-week high

BROOMFIELD – Shares of packaging giant Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL) hit their 52-week high Thursday on news that the company is in discussions to acquire United Kingdom-based rival Rexam PLC in a deal worth $6 billion in cash and stock.

Chairman and chief executive John Hayes declined to take questions on the topic during Broomfield-based Ball’s fourth-quarter earnings call Thursday morning. He said that Rexam had made the disclosure in accordance with U.K. Takeover Panel rules, and that Ball officials would be making no further comment on the topic.

Ball did issue a statement later in the morning regarding the talks.

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“There is no certainty any formal offer will be made for Rexam PLC, nor as to the terms on which any offer may be made,” the statement read.

Ball shares were trading at $72.20 Thursday afternoon, 9 percent above the previous day’s close. They’d reached as high as $73.50 in morning trading.

Ball, which also operates a Boulder-based aerospace division, reported 2014 net income of $470 million, or $3.30 per diluted share, up from $406.8 million, or $2.73 per share the year before. Sales were $8.6 billion in 2014, up slightly from $8.5 billion in 2013.

For the fourth quarter, Ball reported revenue of $2 billion, which was up slightly from a year earlier. But net income in the fourth quarter dropped from $124.5 million, or 85 cents per share, in 2013 to $76 million, or 54 cents per share, in 2014. Metal beverage packaging accounted for much of the earnings decrease, due to various factors that included timing of certain contractual payments in Brazil, lower than expected demand in China, and higher aluminum premiums in Europe.

The Rexam news and earnings announcement came a day after Ball announced a 13-cents-per-share dividend payable March 16 to shareholders of record as of March 2.

Ball employs about 2,800 people in Boulder and Broomfield counties and 14,500 people worldwide, a number that could eclipse 20,000 with the addition of Rexam. The Wall Street Journal reported that Rexam has about 8,000 employees and reported revenue of 1.9 billion pounds, or about $2.9 billion.