Beverage can manufacturers Ball and Rexam have agreed to sell $3.42bn of assets to Ardagh, a Luxembourg-based packaging manufacturer, to secure regulatory approval for the planned £4.43bn merger.

The merger was expected to be closed in June. However, it faced regulatory concerns as the combined entity would be the dominant player in Brazil, Europe and North America, where together the firms hold a 74%, 69% and 60% market share respectively, reported the Telegraph.

To allay regulatory concerns, the two firms decided to divest some of their global assets, which represent around one-fifth of the total production.

“Ardargh will operate 110 facilities, and expects to generate $8.8bn in annual sales.”

Ball and Rexam will sell their innovation and support operations in Bonn, Germany; Chester, UK; Zurich, Switzerland; Sao Paolo, Brazil; and Chicago and Elk Grove, Illinois in the US.

These assets brought a revenue of $3bn last year and earninings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of approximately $375m.

Ardargh will acquire 12 facilities in Europe, eight in the US, and two in Brazil.

This deal will make Ardargh a leading dinks can manufacturer in the world.

Following the closure of the transaction, Ardargh will operate 110 facilities, and expects to generate $8.8bn in annual sales, the Telegraph reported.

The combined entity of Ball and Rexam will operate 75 metal beverage manufacturing facilities and joint ventures, as well as various support functions across the world.

It will operate a total of 26 beverage manufacturing facilities in the North America and Central America, 21 metal beverage manufacturing facilities across Europe and Russia, and 14 metal beverage manufacturing plants in South America, as well as 14 more in the Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) region.