Mondi (MNDI), Diploma (DPLM), Travis Perkins (TPK), SigmaRoc (SRC) and Ecora Resources (ECOR)
Packaging group Mondi’s (MNDI) plan to buy DS Smith (SMDS) has been crashed by news of a higher potential bid from US-based International Paper (US:IP).
International Paper has proposed an all-share deal that would leave DS Smith shareholders with a 33.8 per cent stake in the enlarged group. Based on International Paper’s closing price on Monday of $40.85 per share, its offer of 0.1285 shares per DS Smith share values the latter at 415p per share, or around £5.7bn. This trumps the 373p, or £5.1bn, offer Mondi had already made and is a 48 per cent premium to the price DS Smith’s shares were trading at before the offer period began in February.
DS Smith’s board confirmed it was in talks with International Paper but said there was “no certainty” an offer would be made. It added that it was also continuing talks with Mondi. MF
Read more: A small-cap packager that ticks all the right boxes
Diploma to attach $300mn US fasteners business
Distributor Diploma (DPLM) is buying a US-based Peerless Aerospace Fastener for $300mn (£236mn).
Peerless is a distributor of specialist fasteners used in the aerospace industry across the US and Europe. It has a “long track record” of organic growth of around 9 per cent, delivering an operating margin of 30 per cent, Diploma said in a statement. The price equates to around 7-times Peerless’ forecast operating profit for this year and will be “highly accretive” to the group’s margin, it added.
Diploma already sells fasteners for aircraft cabins but the Peerless purchase will allow it to add fasteners for airframes. The shares jumped by 11 per cent. MF
Read more: Time to back this FTSE 100 newcomer
SigmaRoc completes deal for CRH’s UK lime operations
SigmaRoc (SRC) has completed the buyout of CRH’s (CRH) UK lime operations for €155mn (£133mn).
This is part of the wider €1bn acquisition of CRH’s European lime operations first announced in November. Sigmaroc completed a €745mn purchase of CRH’s lime operations in Germany, Czech Republic and Ireland in January and a deal for its Polish operations is still being finalised.
The UK operations, which include five lime kilns, generated an operating profit of €19.5mn on sales of €105.4mn in 2022. MF
