The proposed US$11bn acquisition of WestRock by Smurfit Kappa has been given the go-ahead by the European Union’s Merger Regulator, and will now see the creation of a US$34bn a year business.
The deal will create the world's biggest paper and packaging company, with some 100,000 employees at the combined group, which will operate 500 converting operations, and 67 mills, producing 23 million tonnes of board annually.
The European Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given the companies' limited combined market position resulting from the proposed transaction.
The notified transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. It was first proposed in September last year. The deal is expected to complete by the end of the current quarter.
WestRock operates a folding carton printing plant in Richmond, NSW, which it bought from the Hanna family for $75m seven years ago. It has some 200 staff operating around the clock.
Smurfit Kappa does not have any operations in ANZ.
