Ardagh Glass today expanded operations in the United Kingdom with a £50 million takeover of the Rexam glass making plant in Yorkshire.
The Dublin-based firm bought the consumer packaging giant's factory in Barnsley.
Ardagh plans to merge its existing UK firm Rockware with the Rexam business. And the company said it could not rule out job losses at the Barnsley site, which employs 700 staff and had operating profits of £3 million in 2004 on sales of £101m.
Sales director Alex Robertson said the company was planning savings and productivity and quality improvements by merging the Rockware and Rexam businesses.
"Our intention is to keep the operation at Barnsley running as a going concern," he said.
Rexam said it would use the proceeds of the sale to pay off debts. Ardagh has plants in Knottingley and Doncaster in Yorkshire, Worksop in Nottinghamshire and Irvine in Ayrshire. It also has sites and businesses in Germany, Poland and Italy.