Business moves on. After DS Smith has confirmed that it has received an offer from its competitor Mondi the two English packaging manufacturers have now agreed on the main financial terms of a share buy-back merger.
According to this agreement in principle, Mondi shareholders would hold 54% of the capital of the enlarged group, and DS Smith shareholders would hold 46%.
Philip Yea, current Chairman of Mondi, would be Chairman of the enlarged Mondi Group, Andrew King, CEO of Mondi, would be Managing Director and Mike Powell, current CFO of Mondi, would be CFO of the new Group, and three non-executive directors of DS Smith are expected to join the Board of Directors.
"The combination represents an exciting opportunity to create a pan-European leader in sustainable paper-based packaging solutions, with complementary geographic footprints, leading customer relationships, a strong balance sheet and cash flow profile, and the potential to deliver substantial benefits to respective shareholders, customers, employees and associated stakeholders." said the two groups in a joint statement.
Completion of the merger is now conditional, among other things, on agreement being reached on the other terms and conditions of the offer and on the usual regulatory issues.
Mondi's competitor, Smurfit Kappa is currently in the process of acquiring the American company WestRock in an $11 billion transaction scheduled to close in the second quarter of 2024.
