French parent Sequana said following the reorganisation, its two subsidiaries will benefit more from each other's strengths.

The news comes as Arjowiggins chief executive Charles Dehelly abruptly left the company, with Sequana chief executive Pascal Lebard taking over as chairman and chief executive of Arjowiggins.

Lebard said: "The changes we are considering today are an active part of Sequana's strategy, which is definitely geared towards strengthening Antalis' specialised distribution business, in order to fully benefit from its position of European leader, while accelerating and promoting Arjowiggins' sales."

A spokeswoman for the company said the potential for staff redundancies was "not the issue at this early stage".

She said: "We will always inform firstly employee representatives of any project that could require prior consultation."

Elsewhere, the European Commission (EU) has approved the sale of M-real's Reflex mill to Arjowiggins.

The deal is subject to Arjowiggins divesting the Reflex carbonless and digital imaging businesses to a third party within 180 days time.

An industry insider said it remains to be seen how M-real or Arjowiggins take the matter further and whether the other carbonless paper mills show an interest to buy it.