News

Rock-Tenn, the US folding carton and corrugated packaging group, is paying £435m ($851m) to take over containerboard manufacturer Southern Container.

Georgia-based Rock-Tenn, which has annual sales of £1.17bn, will finance the deal with proceeds from £715m in new credit facilities and the sale of unsecured senior notes.

Southern Container operates the Solvay recycled containerboard mill near Syracuse, New York State, as well as eight integrated corrugated box plants, two sheet plants and four graphics businesses. It reported sales of £275m in the year to 8 September 2007.

Rock-Tenn chief executive James Rubright said Southern Container "perfectly" fitted his group's strategy to buy "very low cost, well invested assets".

The deal is subject to review under the US Hart-Scott-Rodino competition law.

Rock-Tenn employs 9,500 staff across 92 facilities in the US, Canada, Mexico, Chile and Argentina.