Wayzata Partners sheds bottle maker Anchor

Wayzata Investment Partners has sold Anchor Glass Container Corp. to a Luxembourg company in a cash deal valued at $880 million.

Tampa, Fla.-based Anchor makes glass containers such as beer bottles and food jars for the North American market and operates a major plant in Shakopee. It's been through bankruptcy three times since 1996 and was bought by private equity group Wayzata Investment Partners in 2006. Its website lists annual sales of about $800 million.

The buyer, Luxembourg-based Ardagh Group, is a global producer of metal and glass packaging for consumer products. In a news release, Ardagh Chairman Paul Coulson called the acquisition "an important milestone."

The sale, subject to U.S. regulatory approval, is expected to close at the end of August.

Adding Anchor increases Ardagh's glass business by 50 percent and gives Ardagh a leading position in the U.S. glass industry with about 23 percent market share, Ardagh said.

Anchor Chairman Eugene Davis said the acquisition accelerates Anchor's growth plans and gives it global reach. Company executives could not immediately be reached for comment.

Wayzata Investment Partners, the Star Tribune's largest stockholder, is a spinoff of agribusiness conglomerate Cargill Inc. that invests in distressed debt and "special situation" companies and manages more than $7 billion in assets. Its varied interests include Delta Air Lines, casinos and industrial manufacturers.