Glass and packaging group Ardagh has reached initial agreement to acquire Verallia North America — the second largest glass container manufacturer in the US — from French multinational, Saint-Gobain for around $1.7bn (€1.27bn).

The number of merger and acquisition (M&A) deals increased by 10% in the first nine months of 2012 but the value of the deals completed fell, the NCB Corporate Finance M&A Tracker Survey found.

Irish glass and packaging group Ardagh has acquired the Florida-based company, Anchor Glass Container Corporation, for $880 million (€721m).