The Central and East African packaging businesses of the US-based Crown Cork & Seal have been sold to South Africa's Nampak for $23.5 million, the company announced yesterday.

The Zambian packaging operations of Crown Cork & Seal were excluded from the transaction pending anti-trust clearance, and Nampak will pay a further $1.5 million for this unit once this approval is obtained.

The businesses sold to Nampak were previously operated by Crown Cork and MetalBox, and will be an excellent addition to the Nampak portfolio, the company said. Nampak is already the leading packaging company on the African continent.

Crown Cork & Seal said that it had used the proceeds of the sale to reduce its debts, the balance of which now stands at $44 million.