Amcor Limited (ASX: AMC) and Bemis Company, Inc. (NYSE: BMS) announce an important step toward closing their all-stock transaction, with approval received from the European Commission on 11 February 2019.
A condition of this approval is an agreement to divest three Bemis plants located in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Combined these plants generate approximately USD 170 million of annual revenue from the sale of flexible packaging for certain healthcare products. This approval preserves Amcor's European healthcare packaging business which is substantially larger and participates in attractive, high value end markets.
The process toward securing required antitrust clearances and other regulatory consents in all jurisdictions which are conditional to closing have either been completed or are progressing in line with expectations.
The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval in the United States and Brazil, and the companies are in advanced discussions with regulators in both countries. Those advanced discussions include the potential for required remedies. Inclusive of remedies required by the European Commission, collective potential remedies would represent an immaterial proportion of the total sales for the combined company and would not impact the USD 180 million of net cost synergies expected to be delivered by the end of the third year following completion. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of calendar year 2019.
About Amcor
Amcor is developing and producing high-quality packaging for a variety of food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical-device, home- and personal-care and other products. The company's 35,000 people generate more than US$9 billion in sales from operations that span 200-plus locations in more than 40 countries.
About Bemis
Bemis is a producer of high quality packaging for food, consumer product, healthcare, and industrial applications.With more than 50 facilities in more than 10 countries worldwide, Bemis offers scale and expertise for its customers. The company has about 16,000 employees.
