Moscow. May 16, 2008. /Lesprom.com/. Smurfit Kappa Group plc announced the sale of its minority shareholding in Duropack AG Group, the Group’s Austrian associate, to Constantia Packaging AG for a total consideration of Euro 55 million. The proceeds from the sale of the shareholding will be used to reduce net debt. Duropack AG has containerboard and corrugated businesses in Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia and Croatia. Gary McGann, Smurfit Kappa Group CEO, commented “SKG and Constantia have had a very positive relationship going back to the early 1990s. For many years the investment in Duropack was the Group’s only involvement in Eastern Europe. As a result of the merger of Jefferson Smurfit Group and Kappa Packaging AB in 2005, the Group has wholly owned businesses in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia, Lithuania and Latvia, thereby competing directly with Duropack in many of these countries. As a result, the Boards of both SKG and Constantia agreed that it is in the best interest of both sets of shareholders, and of Duropack, that SKG disposes of its shareholding to Constantia.” Smurfit Kappa Group plc, one of the world’s largest integrated manufacturers of paper-based packaging products with operations in Europe and Latin America. |
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