Smurfit Kappa Completes Orange County Container Acquisition

Smurfit Kappa Group, Dublin, Ireland, has completed the acquisition of Orange County Container Group (OCCG) for a total cash consideration of $340 million (EUR 260 million), subject to customary post completion price adjustments. The $340 million cash consideration is being funded from the Group's existing cash resources.

OCCG is a corrugated and containerboard manufacturer with operations predominantly in Northern Mexico but also in the Southern U.S., and will form part of the Group's Latin America segment. OCCG employs 2,800 people (2,000 of whom are employed in Mexico), and is expected to generate at least $53 million of EBITDA for the full year 2012.

Gary McGann, Smurfit Kappa Group CEO, noted that the acquisition is "fully consistent with our declared growth strategy, complements our existing Mexican business, and increases our exposure to a demographically attractive and rapidly growing region. We remain comfortably within our stated leverage guidance of below three times and the acquisition delivers value through earnings accretion (year 1). Our focus now is on the effective integration of our businesses in the region, which gives us an exciting platform to continue to provide creative packaging solutions to both current and prospective customers."

TAPPI
http://www.tappi.org/