Paper and packaging company Smurfit Kappa has acquired non-integrated corrugated print and display business Inspirepac for £43.5m (€60m).
Buying the business from the Logson Group, Smurfit expects to complete the deal in the next two months.
With two packaging plants and a further two erecting plants in the North of England, Inspirepac specialises in manufacturing printing high quality flexo, digital, litho and screen packaging. The company describes itself as a printer that makes boxes and not a box maker that prints.
Inspirepac has earnings of around £6m and Smurfit Kappa expects to achieve further cost savings of around £1.2m.
Smurfit Kappa Group president and COO Tony Smurfit said: "We are delighted with the announcement of this acquisition and look forward to welcoming the Inspirepac team into Smurfit Kappa UK.
"They have built excellent businesses in many product and customer sectors which will add to our existing strengths, and support our continued drive to ‘Open the Future’ within the UK packaging market."
Speaking about the acquisition, the company said in a statement: "The transaction will further enhance Smurfit Kappa’s market leading position in the UK market, and build on our existing capabilities in the high quality print and Point of Sale market segments."
Meanwhile, it is being speculated that US-based International Paper is exploring a takeover bid of over €8.1bn for the Ireland-based Smurfit Kappa.
Smurfit Kappa currently has operations in 32 countries employing 42,000 people. The company recorded sales of €8bn last year.