Bemis Company, Inc. has announced that the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has signed an order, approving Bemis' acquisition of the Food Americas operations of Alcan Packaging, a business unit of international mining group Rio Tinto plc, subject to certain conditions.

The Food Americas operations recorded 2009 net sales of approximately $1.4 billion and operate 23 plants in North America, South America, and New Zealand. With this agreement, Bemis has satisfied the U.S. regulatory approval requirements necessary to complete the acquisition. Bemis expects the transaction to close as soon as possible.

"This acquisition will increase our global presence, diversify our existing product lines, and augment our technical capabilities," said Henry Theisen, president and chief executive officer of Bemis Company, Inc. "We look forward to executing our transition plan and achieving our objectives of enhancing the value of our business to customers and shareholders."

The order signed by the court requires Bemis to divest certain Alcan Packaging Food Americas packaging assets in the U.S. after closing. The packaging assets that will be divested represent approximately $100 million in annual net sales and include two facilities with production equipment used to produce packaging for fresh meat and retail natural cheese products.

Bemis Co. is a major supplier of flexible packaging and pressure sensitive materials used by leading food, consumer products, healthcare, and other companies worldwide. More information about the company is available at www.bemis.com.