Smurfit Westrock buys CMPC's Chile box business for $420 million, below its own valuation multiple

Smurfit Westrock agreed on Wednesday to buy the Chilean containerboard and corrugated box business of Empresas CMPC for $420 million, which the company said is less than 6 times the unit's adjusted EBITDA once expected synergies are included. The deal includes a recycled containerboard mill in Santiago making about 250,000 tons a year, a network of fiber collection centers, three corrugated plants and a molded tray plant, according to the company's release.

Smurfit Westrock will pay from its own cash and expects to close in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals. Its shares closed at $46.51, up 0.1%, according to Nasdaq data.

The number behind the number: buying below its own multiple

A multiple under 6 means the business should produce at least about $70 million a year of EBITDA once synergies are in. Compare that with what investors pay for Smurfit Westrock itself:

The debt and guidance figures come from the company's second-quarter results; the multiple is our calculation. Buying earnings at under 6 times when your own stock is valued at about 7.6 times adds to value per share on paper, provided the synergies arrive. The deal is small next to the company as a whole: $420 million is less than 2% of its market value.

It is bigger for the Latin America segment. That region earned $233 million of adjusted EBITDA in the first half of 2026 at a 21.2% margin, the highest of Smurfit Westrock's three regions. Roughly $70 million a year of added EBITDA would be about 15% on top of that half-year pace doubled, on our math.

Who it hits

Chile's fish, fruit and farm exporters are the natural customers for these plants. Smurfit Westrock says the plants sit near the country's main fishery and agricultural regions and that the deal makes it "the leading player in Chile," so the buyers of those boxes will be dealing with a bigger supplier. The deal still needs regulatory approval before it closes.

The company also plans to use the Santiago mill's recycled paper in its plants in Argentina, Peru and Ecuador, and to send kraftliner from Brazil and North America into the Chilean box plants. The company presents that routing as one of the main operating benefits of the deal.

Sources: Smurfit Westrock release, Sept. 23, 2026; Smurfit Westrock second-quarter 2026 results; Nasdaq. Enterprise value and multiples are Chronicle calculations. This is market information, not investment advice.