International Paper has received unsolicited bids for the company it plans to spin off, the fiber producer confirmed in a statement Thursday afternoon.
The company also noted it was aware of “recent movement in the share price” following the Financial Times first reporting Thursday that private equity firms Lone Star and Atlas Holdings were pursuing deals to purchase the spinoff company. FT also reported that other PE firms had been in the mix, but only the named two remain. IP’s stock price rose more than 7% Thursday following the report.
The Memphis,Tennessee-based company announced on Jan. 29 — almost exactly one year after acquiring London-based DS Smith — that it was going to split into two companies based on geography: one in North America and one in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. IP has repeatedly projected that the split would be finalized early in 2027.
Up until now, IP had not suggested it would sell that spinoff company. But it confirmed in Thursday’s statement that it’s “progressing the Spin Off and evaluating the Potential Sale in parallel.” IP said the discussions about an EMEA business sale are at an early stage and it cannot guarantee that such a deal will occur. It also said it couldn’t assure what “the ultimate timing or structure of the proposed separation of the EMEA Packaging Business from International Paper” would look like.
International Paper announced Wednesday it will hold a Capital Markets Day on Nov. 3, during which it plans to discuss progress related to separating the EMEA business into an independent, publicly traded company. In that announcement, IP also disclosed that the separated company would be called DS Smith.
