On Friday, 11 October, the shareholders of International Paper (IP) voted in favour of the proposed acquisition of DS Smith. DS Smith shareholders voted for the combination on 7 October.
The companies expect the acquisition to close late in the fourth quarter of 2024, subject to regulatory clearance and other customary closing conditions.
"The overwhelming approval from both DS Smith and IP shareholders confirms the strong support of this combination," said Andy Silvernail, Chairman and CEO of International Paper. "Bringing the two companies together will create a true global leader of sustainable packaging solutions which will drive significant value for our employees, customers and shareholders."
On 16 April 2024, the boards of International Paper and DS Smith announced that they had reached an agreement on the terms of a recommended all-share combination of International Paper with DS Smith. Under the terms of the transaction, DS Smith shareholders will receive 0.1285 of the newly issued International Paper shares as part of the acquisition, resulting in the issuance of approximately 179,847,780 new ordinary International Paper shares. Consequently, the DS Smith shareholders will hold 34.1 per cent of the undiluted share capital of International Paper. In total, DS Smith's enterprise is valued at £7.8bn (€9.2bn) in the transaction.
The merger will result in the creation of a leading global company with pro forma sales of approximately $28.2bn (€25.6bn).
