Basham on Smurfit Kappa and Westrock merger

Basham Ringe y Correa has advised Smurfit Kappa on the clearance by the Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE) of the combination of the global businesses of two of the world’s leading sustainable packaging players, Smurfit Kappa and WestRock Company.

The transaction, approved unconditionally on 26 June, creates the combined entity Smurfit WestRock, a new global leader in sustainable packaging.

Prior to the merger, Smurfit Kappa and WestRock had annual sales of approximately USD 39.5 billion worldwide. In Mexico, both companies are major players in the production of packaging solutions for various industries, with a strong presence of production facilities in the country.

The advice involved a detailed analysis by COFECE, which ruled out possible negative effects on the markets. In order to obtain the merger clearance from COFECE, Smurfit Kappa was advised by

Basham’s antitrust team was led by partner Amílcar Peredo (pictured), with the support of senior associate León Jiménez and intern Ana Granda.