WestRock Closes Buyout Of 5 Facilities From U.S. Corrugated

WestRock Company (NYSE:WRK) closed its previously announced acquisition of certain operations of U.S. Corrugated Holdings, Inc. The buyout will provide significant synergy opportunities through containerboard integration, increased production and improved performance.

WestRock had purchased five corrugated converting facilities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana, from U.S. Corrugated, a large independent manufacturer of corrugated products for packaging and displays. The five facilities will operate as part of WestRock’s Corrugated Packaging segment.

Notably, WestRock anticipates to realize significant synergies from supply chain optimization, better procurement and integrating approximately 105,000 tons of the containerboard converted annually by the acquired facilities. It will also secure another 50,000 tons under a long-term contract with a newly created company, formed from the remaining assets of U.S. Corrugated.

Westrock Company Price

Westrock Company Price | Westrock Company Quote

The buyout will improve the margins of WestRock’s corrugated packaging business. The company will now be able to provide a series of products and services to customers across a variety of end markets, including food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and consumer electronics. The transaction is expected to be accretive to earnings in the first year, following the acquisition.

Recently, WestRock acquired Multi Packaging Solutions International Limited to enhance its differentiated portfolio of paper and packaging solutions. The acquisition will provide significant opportunities for margin expansion and synergies.

Moreover, WestRock continues to benefit from its acquisition strategy. The integration of the volume from the buyout of the Carolina product line, the Cenveo Packaging acquisition and volume incorporation from the merger are likely to prove conducive to growth.

Additionally, WestRock will gain from higher volumes, favorable mix and productivity, and focus on execution of its capital allocation strategy. Driven by these factors, the stock gained around 50.9% in the past one year, outperforming the Zacks categorized Paper and Related Products sub-industry which recorded 28.8% growth.

WestRock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials sector are The Chemours Company (NYSE:CC) , Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) and Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:KRO) . All three stocks boast a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Chemours has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 15.5%. Huntsman has an estimated long-term earnings growth of 7%, while Kronos has an estimated long-term earnings growth of 5%.

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