OTHER NEWS - Sept. 14, 1996

Ball-Foster Agrees to Buy Anchor Glass: Ball-Foster Glass Container Co. signed a letter of intent to buy struggling Anchor Glass Container Corp. for $365 million in what would create the largest U.S. maker of glass bottles. Anchor Glass, owned by Mexico’s Vitro, also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, clearing the way for it to restructure its $951 million in liabilities. That debt had hurt Vitro’s efforts to find a willing buyer for money-losing Anchor, the nation’s third-largest glass-bottle maker. Consumers have been increasingly turning to plastic containers, leading to Anchor’s financial troubles. The combined company, which will overtake Owens-Illinois Inc. as No. 1, should be better able to weather the industry’s downturn by closing unneeded plants. Anchor has 13 glass manufacturing plants in the U.S.