MeadWestvaco-RockTenn 'merger of equals' wins big shareholder vote forming packaging giant WestRock

摘要

In what they call a "merger of equals," RockTenn (RKT) and VleadWestvaco (MWV) shareholders on June 24 approved the combination of the company into WestRock by a 97-98% margin. The transaction is expected to close on July 1. WestRock will be the world's second largest packaging company with sales of about $16 billion, behind International Paper (IP) with $23 billion. It will entail 26 paper packaging mills in the US and Canada with total annual capacity of about 12.2 million tons, about 100 corrugated box and sheet plants, 21 folding carton and food service plants, and 27 paper recovery sites, according to R1S1 estimates.