Mondi to buy DS Smith in £5.1bn deal

Packaging firm Mondi has agreed to buy smaller rival DS Smith for £5.1bn.

In a joint statement after the close on Thursday, the firms said the agreement in principle has an implied value of 373p per DS Smith share, which is a premium of 33% to the closing share price on Thursday.

Under the terms of the deal, Mondi shareholders would own 54% of the combined entity, while DS Smith shareholders would own the rest.

Philip Yea would be chair, Andrew King would be the chief executive officer and Mike Powell would be the chief financial officer of the enlarged Mondi Group.

"The combination is an exciting opportunity to create a pan-European industry leader in paper-based sustainable packaging solutions, with complementary geographic footprints, leading customer relationships, a strong balance sheet and cash flow profile, and the potential to deliver substantial benefits to respective shareholders, customers, employees and related stakeholders," the companies said.

Key benefits to both sets of shareholders include increased exposure to structural growth trends in sustainable packaging; a highly complementary geographic footprint creating a leading player in corrugated packaging across Europe; and a market-leading, well located converting network, focused on delivering innovative solutions for customers.