US drink can and jar maker Ball Corp. agreed to buy British rival Rexam Plc in a sweetened 4.43 billion pounds ($6.85 billion) deal, creating an industry giant that can better manage capital spending and costs as aluminum premiums rise.

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The cash-and-stock deal would combine the world’s two largest beverage can makers by volume, making the combined entity the go-to supplier for many customers looking at single contracts across markets. Together, the companies account for 60% of the beverage can supply in North America, 69% in Europe and 74%in Brazil, according to Morningstar analysts.

Shares in Rexam, which makes cans for Coca-Cola Co. and Anheuser-Busch InBev, rose more than 6 percent to 571.5 pence in early trading before falling back, and were significantly below the indicated price of 628 pence per share.

The offer was at a 17 percent premium to Rexam’s Wednesday close. Ball’s shares closed at $77.16 on Wednesday.

The cash price of primary aluminum saw the biggest decline of the day, dropping 0.8% on the LME to close at $1,800 per metric ton on Wednesday, February 18. On the LME, the 3-month price of aluminum declined 0.5% to $1,820 per metric ton. The cash price of primary Indian aluminum saw a 0.1% decline to INR 113.80 ($1.83) per kilogram.

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Chinese aluminum prices closed flat for the day. Chinese aluminum scrap held its value on Wednesday at CNY 12,500 ($1,998) per metric ton. Chinese aluminum billet stayed flat at around CNY 12,940 ($2,068) per metric ton. The price of Chinese aluminum bar remained essentially flat at CNY 13,700 ($2,190) per metric ton. The Chinese aluminum cash price saw little movement yesterday at CNY 12,910 ($2,063) per metric ton.