Ball Corporation has been given the green light to complete the sale of its aerospace business to BAE Systems for $5.6 billion.

The aluminium packaging company announced in August that it had agreed the sale and expected it to close in the first half of 2024.

This week, Ball announced that the U.S. Department of Justice has ended its review, and allowed its review period to expire, under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 with respect to the announced sale.

With the earlier receipt of other regulatory approvals and clearances for closing this transaction, including the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency and the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States, the parties expect to close the transaction in the near term.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as Ball Corporation’s financial advisor. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP and Axinn Veltrop and Harkrider LLP served as Ball Corporation’s legal and regulatory advisors for the transaction.