DS Smith Completes GrupoLantero Acquisition

DS Smith Plc, U.K., a supplier of recycled corrugated packaging in Europe, this week announced the completion of its acquisition of GrupoLantero’s corrugated activities for approximately £135 million, following receipt of competition authority clearance. The business is a well-invested Iberian corrugated producer with a strong focus in the FMCG sector, operating seven sites across Spain.

This acquisition significantly strengthens DS Smith’s operations in Spain, an important and growing market for corrugated packaging, taking its market share to approximately 10%. It also builds on the company’s recent acquisition of Andopack in calendar Q4 2014.

Miles Roberts, chief executive of DS Smith, said that "we are delighted to announce the completion of the acquisition of the corrugated activities of GrupoLantero. It is a high quality business that we have known and partnered with for a number of years and significantly increases our offering to Pan-European customers in this large and growing market. It is a further important step in our strategy to leverage our scale and strengthen our geographic footprint and we look forward to working with GrupoLantero stakeholders and contributing to the overall growth of DS Smith."

EnricHolzbacher, chief executive of GrupoLantero, noted that "we are very pleased to complete the handover of our corrugated packaging business to our partner DS Smith. We are convinced that DS Smith has a strong alignment within the FMCG sector and will further develop our well established customer relationships. GrupoLantero has decided to strategically focus its activities on its multinational rigid and flexible plastic divisions: Coexpan and Emsur."