International Paper announces plans to split into two publicly traded companies. Over the next 12 to 15 months, the American packaging group, listed in New York under the symbol IP and in London under IPC, plans to separate its packaging activities between North America and the Europe, Middle East and Africa zone. International Paper explains this division by the fact that markets are considered to be different, and that the pace of change is not the same in each region.
The first company would retain the International Paper name and combine the North American activities of International Paper and DS Smith, a British manufacturer integrated in January 2025. According to the Group's financial results published on the same day as the announcement, this geographic area enabled IP to achieve sales of $15.175 billion in 2025. The new International Paper will accelerate "its investments in organic growth, productivity and strategic purchasing, while maintaining a strong balance sheet" .
The second, designated at this stage as EMEA Packaging, would bring together the two groups' packaging assets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), representing sales of $8.451 billion. It will focus on packaging solutions "innovative and sustainable . Prior to the demerger, International Paper plans to continue investing in the EMEA region to prepare the company for the spin-off "by posting higher margins and improving its free cash flow" .
"Over the past year, we have created two regional powerhouses with significant scale, strong customer relationships, leading brands and talented teams." said Andy Silvernail, President and CEO of International Paper. "Both companies operate in distinct market environments and are at different stages of transformation. We've learned a lot about how to create value in each region."
With this division, each zone would have dedicated governance, a distinct capital allocation and its own investment strategy.
