June 16 (Reuters) - Ball Corp (BALL.N), the world's largest supplier of beer cans, is exploring a sale of its business that provides aerospace and national defense hardware, such as sensors and antennas, for over $5 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.
Ball launched an auction process to sell the aerospace unit in recent weeks, the sources said.
Spokespeople for Ball and Textron did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while BAE declined to comment.
Ball shares rose 7% to $58.57 in afternoon trading in New York on Friday, giving the company a market value of more than $18 billion.
The aerospace business has been generating steady albeit limited cash flow for Ball, accounting for $170 million out of its $1.45 billion in comparable operating earnings in 2022.
Persons:
Ball, David Carnevali, Leslie Adler, Bill Berkrot
Organizations:
Ball Corp, BAE Systems, Textron, Ball, BAE, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, Oceanic, Thomson
Locations:
Westminster , Colorado, New York