Ardagh buys into US glass market

Irish glass and packaging group Ardagh has made its first foray into the US glass market via an acquisition believed to be worth more than $200m (€151m).

The group has bought Leone Industries — a New Jersey-based manufacturer of glass containers — for an undisclosed sum, which industry sources have estimated to be around the $230m (€174m) mark.

Ardagh Group chief executive Niall Wall said that the move marks “an important step in developing our international glass franchise, and will add scale and value to our business. We’re very pleased to have completed the acquisition... which will assist us to expand our US activities into the glass container market.”