Ball trims stake in Saudi cans venture, strengthens ties with ORG

SAUDI ARABIA – Ball Corporation has completed the partial divestiture of its ownership in Ball United Arab Can Manufacturing Co. (UACM), its consolidated joint venture in Saudi Arabia, reducing its stake from 51% to 10%.

The deal, first announced in November 2024, saw Ball sell 41% of its interest to a subsidiary of Beijing-based ORG Technology Co., a leading packaging solutions provider, for approximately US$70 million, subject to customary adjustments. Ball had earlier estimated an US$85 million gain on closing.

As of June 30, UACM reported assets of US$91 million and liabilities of US$25 million.

Ball said the transaction reflects its strategy of maintaining a disciplined, returns-oriented portfolio while leveraging partnerships to strengthen market reach.

“This transaction deepens the multi-year relationship with ORG and combines Ball’s global can innovation and customer reach with ORG’s regional execution and manufacturing scale,” the company stated.

CEO Dan Fisher added, “We are pleased to deepen our relationship with ORG and look forward to collaborating to better serve customers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and across the broader Middle East.”

Ball’s ties with ORG date back to 2018, when it sold its Chinese metal beverage packaging plants to the company.

The Saudi venture itself has roots in Rexam, which Ball acquired in 2016. Rexam had initially purchased a 51% stake in UACM in 2014 for US$122 million to tap into emerging markets and serve global beverage players like Coca-Cola.

The move is the latest in a series of joint venture restructurings for Ball. In March 2025, the company formed a 49-51 joint venture with consultancy Ayna.AI to reallocate its aluminum cups business under the entity Oasis Venture Holdings, where Ball became the minority investor.

Both the Saudi Arabia can business and the aluminum cups unit fall within Ball’s non-reportable operating segment.

With Ball stepping back to a minority role, the partnership opens the door for ORG Technology to scale its footprint in the Gulf region, leveraging Ball’s innovation pipeline in lightweighting and sustainable beverage can formats.

The deal signals intensifying competition in the Middle East packaging sector as international and Asian players position themselves to serve global brands and rapidly expanding local beverage markets.

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