The Commission published a notice yesterday (8 April) that said it had concluded that the transaction would not raise competition concerns, given the companies’ limited combined market position resulting from the proposed transaction.

The notified transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. The decision was made on Friday (5 April).

The two businesses had confirmed in September that they were going to combine to create Smurfit WestRock, a global packaging giant that was expected to deliver “attractive returns for shareholders of both companies”.

At the time they said that they saw “compelling strategic, commercial and financial rationale for combining Smurfit Kappa and WestRock’s highly complementary paper-based packaging companies to create a global leader in sustainable packaging”.

Together, Smurfit Kappa and WestRock generated combined twelve months’ adjusted annual revenue of approximately $34bn (£26.8bn) as of 30 June 2023.

Smurfit Kappa operates across 36 countries globally and employs 47,000 people. WestRock employs around 50,000 staff and works in more than 30 countries.