The USA’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved a final order of Ardagh Group's $1.7 billion acquisition of Saint-Gobain Containers, after the company sold off six glass plants and related assets.

The FTC’s administrative complaint, issued in July 2013, alleged that the proposed acquisition would concentrate most of the $5 billion U.S. glass container industry in two companies – the newly combined Ardagh/Saint-Gobain and Owens-Illinois (O-I).

If the merger had proceeded as proposed, the two companies would have controlled about 85% of the glass container market for brewers and 77% of the market for distillers, reducing competition and likely leading to higher prices for customers buying glass containers for beer or spirits.

But in settling the FTC’s complaint, Ardagh agreed to sell six of the manufacturing plants and related assets it acquired through its 2012 acquisition of Anchor Glass Container Corporation, along with Anchor’s former corporate headquarters in Tampa, Fla.

The six plants are located in Elmira, N.Y.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Warner Robins, Ga.; Henryetta, Okla.; Lawrenceburg, Ind.; and Shakopee, Minn.

The Commission approved Ardagh’s application to sell the six manufacturing plants and related assets to Glass Container Acquisition LLC, an affiliate of KPS Capital Partners L.P., as required under the now final settlement order.