WestRock’s $4.9 Billion Acquisition of KapStone

On January 29, 2018, WestRock Company (“WestRock”) and KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation (“KapStone”) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement, pursuant to which WestRock will acquire all of the outstanding shares of KapStone, a leading North American producer and distributor of containerboard, corrugated products and specialty papers, for a total enterprise value of approximately $4.9 billion. Cravath is representing WestRock in connection with the transaction.

The Cravath team is led by partner Richard Hall and includes associates Maya A. Rosenthal‑Larrea and James J. Valenza and foreign associate attorney Caspar J. Haarmann on M&A matters; partners Andrew J. Pitts and George E. Zobitz, senior attorney Christopher J. Kelly and associates Steven Y. Li and Joshua S. Aronoff on financing matters; partner J. Leonard Teti II and associate Arvind Ravichandran on tax matters; and associates Matthew Cantor and Matthew J. Bobby on executive compensation and benefits matters. Alison E. Beskin also worked on executive compensation and benefits matters.