Ball Corporation in Merger Talks with British aluminum can maker Rexam

Rexam, the British aluminum can maker, said on Thursday that it was in talks to potentially be acquired by Ball Corporation in a deal that would value it at 4.29 billion pounds, or about $6.5 billion.

The deal, if consummated, would combine two of the world’s largest makers of beverage cans.

Rexam said the cash-and-share bid by Ball values the company at £6.10 a share. The bid consists of two-thirds in cash and one-third in new shares issued by Ball, Rexam said.

Shares of Rexam jumped 23 percent to £5.50 in afternoon trading Thursday in London. Its shares traded as high as £5.75.

“Discussions on other matters are continuing and there can be no certainty any formal offer will be forthcoming, or as to the terms of any offer,” Rexam said in a news release on Thursday.

Rexam, based in London, is one of the world’s largest makers of beverage cans, competing with Ball Corporation and Crown Holdings Inc.

Its biggest consumers include PepsiCo, the Coca-Cola Company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Carlsberg Group and Heineken. Rexam employs about 8,000 people in 20 countries and posted sales of £3.94 billion in 2013.

The Ball Corporation, based in Broomfield, Colo., makes cans for beverages, foods, aerosols and paint, as well as materials for the aerospace industry. It employs about 14,500 people and had sales of $8.5 billion in 2013.

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