Federal Trade Commission Blocks Deal To Sell Parent Company of McKean County Manufacturer

A deal to sell Saint Gobain to rival Ardagh Group, S.A. was challenged earlier this week by the Federal Trade Commission.  Cost increases and competition reduction were reasons listed in papers filed in the $1.7 billion acquisition paperwork.

Complaints have already been filed by the government regulator against both Saint-Gobain and Ardagh Group, saying the deal violates antitrust laws.  A hearing on the complaints won’t be heard until early December of this year.

The FTC states that allowing this deal to occur will leave 75% of the market to be controlled by this new company and rival Owens-Illinois.  Currently Saint-Gobain is the 2^nd largest and Luxembourg-based Ardagh Group, S.A., the 3^rd largest company manufacturing glass containers.

Staff with the FTC have recently been given the green light to obtain restraining orders in this matter.

A non-refundable sum was made by Ardagh for the purchase of Saint-Gobain’s assets, which include 13 plants and 4,400 employees, headquartered from Muncie, Indiana.  The money put down on the sale, $1.69 Billion, was made at the beginning of the year when negotiations began exclusively between the 2 companies.

In 2012 Ardagh entered the United States market with the purchase of Leone Industries, preceded by the purchase of the third largest glass container manufacturing company, Anchor Glass Container Corporation.

Ardaugh’s purchase of Saint Gobain will continue to push their total facility count over 100 worldwide throughout 25 countries, which includes glass and metal manufacturing facilities.  Their portfolio includes such brands as Budweiser, Chicken of the Sea, Coca-Cola, Bacardi, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Pepsi and SC Johnson.

(According to the Verallia website, part of Saint-Gobain Container, Port Allegany glass container manufacturing dates back to 1900.  Once part of Ball/Ball-Foster in Port Allegany, Saint-Gobain bought out a venture between Saint-Gobain and Ball-Foster which began in 1995.  The Verallia brand was launched worldwide in 2010 by Saint-Gobain.)