Smurfit Kappa has announced that it has agreed to acquire inspirepac, a ‘non-integrated corrugated, high-quality print and display business’ in the UK.
The transaction, which aims to ‘further enhance Smurfit Kappa’s market leading position in the UK market, and build on [its] existing capabilities in the high-quality print and point-of-sale market segments’, will see inspirepac bought from the Logson Group for a consideration of £43.5 million. It will reportedly be ‘immediately earnings accretive’.
Tony Smurfit, COO and President of Smurfit Kappa Group, commented: “We are delighted with the announcement of this acquisition and look forward to welcoming the inspirepac team into Smurfit Kappa UK. They have built excellent businesses in many product and customer sectors which will add to our existing strengths, and support our continued drive to ‘Open the Future’ within the UK packaging market.”
inspirepac is a private company with 279 employees, and operates two packaging plants and a further two erecting plants in the North of England.
Chris Marples, CEO of inspirepac, will continue to lead the business.
He commented: "We have enjoyed five fantastic years as part of the Logson Group, a period that has seen significant growth and exceptional performance driven by investment and innovation. Looking to the future, Smurfit Kappa is the natural home for our next phase of development, our culture is closely aligned to their philosophy and I am excited by the opportunities our combined strengths can bring to our customers."
Logson Group CEO, Alex Kelly, added: "inspirepac has been an excellent investment for Logson Group since we acquired our majority shareholding in 2009. This deal represents value to Logson, Smurfit Kappa and the employees of inspirepac. We wish Chris Marples and his team every success in the future and are sure the business will continue to flourish under their new ownership."
Despite Smurfit Kappa's expansion, there are also reports that US-based paper company International Paper is seeking to purchase Smurfit Kappa, which is estimated to be worth more than £6 billion.
International Paper is currently the largest paper pulp manufacturer in the world, employing approximately 65,000 employees in 24 countries. Smurfit Kappa currently employs around 42,000 people across 32 countries.
Find out more about Smurfit Kappa.
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