Two private equity firms, Lone Star and Atlas Holdings, are exploring multibillion-dollar bids for International Paper's European packaging business, raising the possibility that the US group could abandon its plan to float the division on the London stock market, according to people familiar with the matter. The two firms are the final suitors left after other private equity firms dropped out. Bids may value the business at less than $6bn (£4.5bn), a steep drop from 2024, when International Paper agreed to buy DS Smith, then a FTSE 100 company, for £5.8bn, or £7.8bn including debt.
The sources cautioned that no decisions have been taken and International Paper could still proceed with a listing. Packaging companies have faced pressure since prices peaked in 2022 following a surge in home deliveries during the pandemic. International Paper's plan to spin off its European business, announced in January, marked a rapid unravelling of the DS Smith acquisition, which had completed only a year earlier. The group booked a nearly $2.5bn goodwill impairment charge on its Emea business in its latest annual results.
The Memphis-based group plans to split into two public companies, with a European packaging business comprising DS Smith and International Paper assets listed in London and New York. The spin-off is expected to complete between January and April 2027. This week, International Paper said it had made "significant progress" preparing the Emea business to operate as a standalone company, to be renamed DS Smith, and plans a capital markets day in November.
A sale rather than a float would be another blow to the London stock market, which is struggling to attract new listings as many companies are taken private. As of July, the value of bids for London-listed companies was 27 times greater than the value of new market entrants in 2026. Lone Star, with about $96bn of committed capital, recently agreed to sell its lender IKB to Crédit Agricole, while Atlas, managing more than $16bn, has been active in the UK, including its acquisition of banknote printer De La Rue. Neither firm nor International Paper commented.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing