DS Smith continues international expansion with Greek buy

London-headquartered packaging company DS Smith has the acquired Greek corrugated packaging business of Cukurova Group as it continues an international shopping spree.

The acquired business has a turnover of €80m (£58.8m), three production facilities and a strong focus in the FMCG sector. 

Simultaneously, DS Smith has entered into an agreement, subject to regulatory approvals, to sell its minority shareholding in Cukurova Group's Turkish corrugated paper and packaging entities to the Cukurova Group. These entities previously owned the Greek business being acquired.

DS Smith chief executive Miles Roberts said of the latest addition to the company: "It is a high-quality and stable business that we have known and partnered with for a number of years. It further strengthens and is very complementary to our recently enlarged presence in the growing region of south-eastern Europe.

“It is a further important step in our strategy to expand our geographic footprint and to support our customers. We look forward to working with our new colleagues and delivering sustainable and profitable growth in the region."

DS Smith reported a 20% profit rise in its final year results in June and announced its intention to acquire the corrugated activities of Spanish business Grupo Lantero for £135m.

Earlier that month it also bought Austria-based recycled corrugated board packaging business Duropack.

In October 2014 it was revealed as the first packaging company to install Fujifilm's digital print system for corrugated board, comprising the Onset S40i, Uvijet OL inks and an automated media handling system.

DS Smith had a £3.8bn turnover in the year to 30 April 2015.