Amcor plc (“Amcor”) and Berry Global Group, Inc. (“Berry”) have reached an important milestone in their all-stock transaction, with the filing of the definitive joint proxy statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The joint proxy statement includes notices of shareholder meetings for both Amcor and Berry that are scheduled to take place on Tuesday, 25 February 2025.
This transaction aims to bring together two highly complementary businesses to create a global leader in consumer and healthcare packaging solutions, with significant opportunities for portfolio refinement and leveraging differentiated material science and innovation capabilities.
The combined company is expected to deliver $650 million in identified cost, growth, and financial synergies, with a commitment to an investment-grade balance sheet and combined annual cash flow of over $3 billion. The transaction is also anticipated to deliver over 35% adjusted cash earnings per share accretion and enhance long-term shareholder valuation creation from 10-15% to 13-18% per annum.
The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously recommended the transaction, which is expected to be completed in the middle of the calendar year 2025.
Some key dates to note include the record date for both Berry and Amcor shareholders on Friday, 17 January 2025, the Amcor extraordinary general meeting and the Berry special meeting on Tuesday, 25 February 2025, and the expected transaction completion date in the middle of calendar year 2025.
The joint proxy statement provides information about the shareholder meetings, how to vote, and governance matters related to the combined company following the completion of the transaction.
The transaction is expected to generate approximately $650 million in identified synergies by the end of the third year after the consummation of the transaction, which includes around $530 million of annual run-rate pre-tax cost synergies, approximately $60 million of annual run-rate financial savings, and about $60 million of annual run-rate pre-tax earnings benefit from growth synergies.
Amcor plc is a global leader in responsible packaging solutions, generating $13.6 billion in annual sales from operations spanning 212 locations in 40 countries in fiscal year 2024. On the other hand, Berry Global Group, Inc. is a global leader in innovative packaging solutions, with over 34,000 global employees across more than 200 locations.
Investors and security holders of Amcor and Berry are urged to carefully read the definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant documents filed with the SEC as they contain important information about the proposed transaction. As a result of these announcements, the company's shares have moved 0.2% on the market, and are now trading at a price of $68.6. For more information, read the company's full 8-K submission here.
