RockTenn To Acquire Smurfit-Stone Container

Published: January 25, 2011

NORCROSS, GA & CREVE COEUR, MO | The Boards of Directors of both RockTenn and Smurfit-Stone Corp. have unanimously approved a definitive agreement allowing Smurfit-Stone to become a wholly owned subs. of RockTenn. The aggregate consideration, consisting of 50% cash and 50% RockTenn stock, is valued at $35/share of Smurfit-Stone common stock, and represents a 27% premium to Smurfit-Stone’s closing stock price on January 21, 2011. The aggregate equity value of the transaction, based on the closing price of RockTenn’s common stock on January 21, 2011, is approximately $3.5 billion.

The transaction reportedly creates a  $9 billion leading paperboard packaging company in North American with RockTenn maintaining its headquarters in Norcross, GA.

Smurfit-Stone is an integrated containerboard and corrugated packaging producer as well as one of the world’s largest paper recyclers. Smurfit-Stone has manufacturing mill capacity of 7.0 million tons; when combined, RockTenn will have 9.4 million tons of total production capacity, including 7.5 million tons of mill production in the containerboard market.