Packaging firm Ardagh to list in U.S. this year

LONDON May 9 (Reuters) - Irish bottle and packaging maker Ardagh Group [ARDGR.UL] plans to list in the United States as early as the third quarter of this year, it said on Monday.

The company, known as Ardagh Glass until its 1.7 billion euro ($2.45 billion) takeover of Dutch metal packaging company Impress Cooperative last year, said it would submit paperwork to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission later this week.

Ardagh, which produces around 25 billion food and drink containers a year, said it had not yet decided how much it would raise in the float, the proceeds of which will be used for things such as repaying debt, funding possible acquisitions and capital expenditure.

Founded in Ireland in 1932 but now headquartered in Luxembourg, Ardagh employs 14,100 people in 25 countries and has annual global sales of more than 3.2 billion euros. Irish entrepreneur Paul Coulson is its biggest shareholder.

Another maker of containers for food and drink products, Verallia, the glass packaging unit of Saint-Gobain (SGOB.PA), is also planning to list this year and has filed documents with the French AMF regulator. [ID:nWEA5463]

($1=.6953 Euro)

(Reporting by Kylie MacLellan)