* Sells 4 plants to U.S. packaging maker Ball Corp
* Ball to pay $577 million in cash
* To supply AB InBev with cans, lids in long-term deal
* AB InBev not planning more U.S. packaging plant sales
* AB InBev stock up 2 percent, outpacing sector index
(Rewrites with further details, analyst, shares
BRUSSELS, July 1 (Reuters) - Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer, agreed to sell part of its U.S. packaging business to Ball Corp for $577 million as the beermaker neared the half-way point of its sell-off target.
The brewer of Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck's said that packaging group Ball will acquire for cash four of its metal beverage can and lid plants that the Belgian brewer acquired with its $52 billion purchase of Anheuser-Busch late last year.
Under the deal, Ball will enter into a long-term supply agreement with AB InBev for cans and lids from the divested plants, AB InBev said in a statement on Wednesday.
UBS analyst Melissa Earlam said the deal was at a good price for AB InBev in the current environment at 7.5 times 2008 EBITDA underlying earnings, which was at the top of UBS's range of valuations for the whole U.S. packaging business.
The divested plants in Wisconsin, Ohio, Georgia and Florida were more focused on soft drink cans, while it will keep the remaining seven plants that focus more on beer can production.
"There are no plans or activities underway to sell the remaining plants," AB InBev said in the statement.
The deal will bring AB InBev close to the halfway stage of the $7 billion it aimed to raise from divestments by November this year to help repay some of the $45 billion of debt taken on with the Anheuser-Busch acquisition.
AB InBev has so far this year sold off its South Korean business, its minority stake in China's Tsingtao and the U.S. distributor of Labatt beer.
"We think ABI will get to the $7 billion target. This disposal now brings the running total proceeds from disposals for ABI to $3.38 billion," UBS's Earlam said.
She believes assets that could still be sold are AB InBev's domestic German business, part or all of its eastern European business and its U.S. theme park and entertainments business.
At 1230 GMT, AB InBev shares were up 2 percent at 26.25 euros, against a 0.9 percent rise for the DJ Stoxx European food and beverage index
"The sale of this group of soft drinks-focused plants represents another step in our de-leveraging program, allowing us to rationalise capital while retaining those facilities that remain most relevant to our beer business," AB InBev Chief Executive Carlos Brito said in the statement.
AB InBev was advised by Deutsche Bank and Lazard. (Additional reporting by David Jones in London) (Reporting by Antonia van de Velde; editing by Simon Jessop and David Cowell)