Irish packaging group Ardagh has announced that it has secured US approval for its €721 million acquisition of Anchor Glass Container Corporation.

Ardagh said it had received regulatory approval and had completed the deal, first announced in mid-July. Anchor was previously owned by private investment funds managed by Wayzata Investment Partners.

The purchase of the Florida-based Anchor gives Ardagh a significant increase in scale in the US food-packaging market ahead of a planned flotation in the US.

Anchor is the third-largest glass container manufacturer in the US and produces approximately 5.6 billion containers annually from eight facilities, employs approximately 2,700 people and has annual revenues of approximately $800 million (€656 million).

Ardagh funded the all-cash deal with $920 million raised on the bond market.

Ardagh Group, which has been very active in the MA market in the past 12 months, operates 100 manufacturing plants in 25 countries, employs about 17,700 people and has global sales in excess of €4.1 billion.