DS Smith Acquires Grupo Andopack in Spain

 

DS Smith, London, U.K., this past week announced the acquisition of Andopack, a Spanish corrugated board producer. Andopack is a well-invested and growing business with good access to both Barcelona and Madrid, D.S. Smith notes.

The acquisition gives DS Smith a direct market position in Spain, allowing it to meet demands from its pan-European customers to have a presence in this important market. Andopack, DS Smith says, will provide cost and cash saving opportunities and an excellent platform for growth as it leverages its scale, innovation, and customer relationships.

 

The total consideration, including the assumption of debt, is expected to be about £35m, subject to closing adjustments, representing a post synergy multiple of between 5.0 and 6.0x EBITDA. The transaction is being financed from existing cash resources and is expected to deliver a return on invested capital above the company’s cost of capital in the second year of ownership.

 

Miles Roberts, chief executive of DS Smith, says that "the acquisition of Andopack in Spain is an exciting development for DS Smith as we continue to strengthen our pan-European customer offering. Andopack has high quality assets and we look forward to growing it further as we expand in this attractive market."

 

DS Smith is a producer of corrugated packaging in Europe and of specialist plastic packaging worldwide, operating across 25 countries and employing 20,000 people. As the largest fiber recycler in Europe, DS Smith recovers some 5.4 million metric tons of paper and packaging annually for recycling. Recovered packaging (and other fiber grades) provide the raw materials used in production by the group’s papermaking operations. DS Smith operates 14 of its own recycling facilities and has an established network of more than 500 compliant partners.