Ardagh hopes to satisfy Feds

Ardagh Group wants Verallia of North America so much, it’s willing to sell off two of its glass container plants and two of Verallia’s to make the deal happen.
The Luxembourg-based company has announced that it is in negotiations to sell plants in Florida, Illinois, Georgia, and North Carolina to a single buyer as a standalone business.
The move is an attempt to satisfy the Federal Trade Commission, which issued an administrative order in July alleging that the acquisition of Verallia by Ardagh would be anti-competitive for the glass bottle industry.
“Ardagh firmly believes that its acquisition of VNA, as originally structured, is fully consistent with the antitrust laws,” the company said in a formal statement. “It is very clear that the amended transaction would more than overcome any possible regulatory concerns.”
Saint-Gobain, parent company of Verallia, accepted an offer from Ardagh in January for about $1.7 billion to sell the glass container manufacturing company.
Verallia’s plant in Dunkirk produces about 2.5 million longneck beer bottles per day and has been the focus of significant capital investment by Saint-Gobain over the past 15 years.
Ardagh said this week it is hoping to sell its glass container plants in Jacksonville, Fla., and Warner Robins, Georgia. It would also sell plants currently operated by Verallia in Dolton, Ill., and Wilson, N.C.
“Ardagh is currently in negotiations with a number of potential qualified buyers, each of whom is well capitalized and owns and operates other industrial businesses in the United States,” the company’s statement said.
The new, standalone, four-plant operation would be “a strong, viable competitor,” Ardagh said. The standalone business would have manufacturing capacity equal to more than 100 percent of Ardagh’s current beer bottle business and more than 100 percent of Verallia’s spirits bottle business.
Ardagh was founded in Dublin, Ireland, in 1932 as the Irish Glass Bottle Company. With annual sales of about $5.4 billion, Ardagh now operates in 26 countries, employing about 22,000 people.
It bought Anchor Glass Container Corp. in July of 2012, making it the third-largest glass container company in the U.S.
Ardagh’s offer for Verallia North America represented 6.5 times earnings before income taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
In the most recent year for which figures are available, Verallia had sales of about $1.61 billion. In addition to the Dunkirk plant, Verallia North America has 12 other industrial sites in the U.S.
Saint-Gobain, based in Paris, has been trying to spin off its glass container business for at least two years.
The transaction will allow Saint-Gobain to concentrate on its more profitable sheet glass business and reduce its debt.

Seeking new Chamber leadership
The Jay County Chamber of Commerce has launched a search for its next executive director in light of the pending retirement of Vicki Tague at the end of 2013.
A search committee has been formed and is looking for an individual with a dynamic personality, a commitment to Jay County, a track record of leadership, a background that includes financial management, communication skills, and a bachelor’s degree or equivalent business experience.
Resumes and cover letters should be sent to the search committee at the Jay County Chamber of Commerce, 118 S. Meridian St., Portland.

New plant on schedule
Construction of an advanced biofuels plant that will produce 20 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol annually is on schedule, an executive of POET-DSM said this week at a conference in Chicago.
The Emmetsburg, Iowa, plant is part of Project Liberty, POET’s effort to ramp up commercial production of ethanol from corn cobs, leaves, husks, and some stalk. When in operation it will be the first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in the U.S.
POET-DSM is a 50-50 joint venture between POET LLC, parent company of POET Biorefining-Portland, and Royal DSM.

Joins bank board
Phil Fullenkamp, chief financial officer, senior vice president, and treasurer of Celina Insurance Group has been selected to join the board of directors of Second National Bank. He resides in St. Henry, Ohio.
Fullenkamp began his career at Celina Insurance Group in 1981 after working as a certified public accountant for Deloitte, Haskins and Sells in Dayton, Ohio. He received both his bachelor’s and his master’s degrees from the University of Dayton.
He’s involved with a number of activities at St. Henry Catholic Church and serves on the board of the Mercer County Civic Foundation. He and his wife, Peg, have two adult children.
Gets abatement
First Bank of Berne was approved this week for a tax abatement on construction of a new building and renovation on other buildings.
Bank officials said the project will create 10 new jobs over the next three years with a total payroll of $450,000. Another 62 jobs will be retained as a result of the project.
Approval was granted by the Berne City Council.

Helping farmers
Tyson Foods Inc., parent company of Tyson Mexican Original in Portland, this week announced a new partnership with World Vision aimed at providing assistance to family farmers in northern Tanzania.
The project, called Tyson Foods Fellows, will put to use Tyson’s technical knowledge about chicken production with World Vision’s Secure the Future Tanzania initiative. Plans for the partnership were outlined at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting.
More than 40 percent of the population of Tanzania suffers from chronic food deficits.[[In-content Ad]]