Smurfit Westrock agrees to buy CMPC’s Chilean packaging business

Smurfit Westrock has agreed to acquire the Chilean containerboard and corrugated packaging business of Empresas CMPC for $420 million. The transaction would add a recycled containerboard mill, a network of fibre collection centres, three corrugated plants and a moulded tray facility to Smurfit Westrock’s operations.

The paper machine in Santiago has an annual output of approximately 250,000 tonnes. The buyer said the facilities would give it a leading position in Chile and strengthen its integration across southern Latin America. It plans to use recycled paper in its operations in Argentina, Peru and Ecuador, while directing kraftliner from Brazil and North America to the acquired Chilean converting plants.

Smurfit Westrock said the purchase price represented a post-synergy multiple of less than six times adjusted EBITDA and that it intended to finance the purchase with its own liquid resources. Closing is expected in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions.

“CMPC has nurtured and grown this business over many decades and brings tremendous expertise into the Smurfit Westrock organization,” said President and CEO Tony Smurfit. Latam CEO Alvaro Henao said the agreement supported the group’s previously announced regional growth plan.