A deferred payment of around $7.5m (4.6m) is to be made at a later date to Bates, which employs 320 people and has a 135,000 tonnes of containerboard requirement.
The deal, which will be funded from Smurfit Kappa’s cash reserves, is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Tony Smurfit, Smurfit Kappa Group chief operations officer, said the acquisition fits with the company’s integrated model, providing scope for further synergies in both businesses.
“These synergies will be primarily delivered through additional integration of the containerboard needs of Bates into SKOC’s 350,000 tonnes recycled containerboard mill, with additional savings expected through a range of operational efficiency measures. Importantly, the Group’s enlarged packaging footprint in the US will further enhance SKG’s capacity to provide innovative, insight-led and value enhancing packaging solutions to both current and prospective customers”.
Smurfit recently told Packaging News that while the company only had two box plants in the US, the American market offered opportunities for Smurfit Kappa Group.
