Feb 23 (Reuters) - Ardagh Group SA said on Tuesday it will spin off its metal packaging business through a merger with a listed blank-check firm backed by billionaire Alec Gores, in a deal that values the new company at $8.5 billion.

The deal with Gores Holdings V will provide a total infusion of $3.4 billion to the spun-off company, financed by a combination of $2.3 billion of new debt, $600 million from new investors and the capital raised in Gores Holding V's initial public offering of shares last year.

Luxembourg-based global packaging group Ardagh operates 56 metal and glass production facilities in 12 countries, employing more than 16,000 people, according to its website.

The company caters to beverage, food, pharmaceutical and personal care markets and lists brands including Heineken and Perrier as customers.

Gores - the founder of private equity firm Gores Group LLC -

is one of the United States' most prolific SPAC dealmakers and has raised billions so far through multiple blank-check firms.

SPACs, or blank-check firms, are shell companies that raise funds through an initial public offering to acquire a private company. For the company going public, it is an alternative route to public markets and has gained immense popularity among Wall Street investors in recent times.

(Reporting by Sohini Podder and Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham)

((sohini.podder@thomsonreuters.com;))