DS Smith clears regulatory hurdle in sale of plastics division

DS Smith announced on Thursday that the United States Department of Justice has entered into a consent decree, clearing the way for the completion of Olympus Partners and its affiliate Liqui-Box Holdings' pending acquisition of DS Smith's plastics division.

The FTSE 100 company said the consent decree was now subject to the required US federal court ratification, which would be the final part of that process, with the board expecting the transaction to complete promptly thereafter.

It said the sale represented an “important step” in DS Smith's continued progress in sustainable packaging, with a focus on its fibre-based business.

“We expect net cash proceeds of approximately £400m, after taxation, transaction adjustments and expenses, which will be used to reduce financial gearing in line with our medium-term target of net debt-to-EBITDA at or below 2.0x,” the DS Smith board said in its statement.

At 1213 GMT, shares in DS Smith were up 2.92% at 361.13p.