
Glass bottle manufacturer Owens-Illinois (O-I) has entered a definitive agreement to buy Nueva Fàbrica Nacional de Vidrio from Grupo Modelo for a total consideration of approximately $188m.
Nueva Fàbrica, through its Nueva Fanal facility near Mexico City, produces and supplies around 300,000t of glass containers a year using four furnaces at the plant.
These containers are used for Grupo Modelo brands such as Corona, Modelo Especial, and Pacifico.
O-I CEO Andres Lopez said: “The acquisition of Nueva Fanal reflects O-I’s strategy to invest in the growth of sustainable glass packaging by partnering with our customers to help enable their growth in premium brands such as Corona, one of the most popular and fastest growing beer brands globally.
“This investment is in addition to our recently announced nearly 50% acquisition of Empresas Comegua as well as our plans to expand our Gironcourt, France, glass plant.
“These, along with the investment in the Nueva Fanal glass plant, are examples of the near-term strategic growth opportunities we discussed at our November 2018 Investor Day and incorporated into our 2019 outlook.”
The transaction, currently subject to customary closing conditions, including competition authority approval, is expected to complete during this year.
O-I is planning to sign a long-term glass supply agreement to continue to supply Grupo Modelo.
Earlier this month, the glass container manufacturer announced plans invest more than $60m to expand its plant in Gironcourt, France.