Richard Curran: WestRock merger is a chance for Smurfit to complete its unfinished business in US

Tony Smurfit, chief executive officer of Smurfit Kappa Group. Photo: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

Richard Curran

Smurfit Kappa’s merger talks with US peer WestRock would tick several key boxes for the Irish firm’s shareholders and management, not least its chief executive Tony Smurfit.

WestRock is the second biggest US packaging company and it has a major presence in a country that has proven very tricky for Smurfit group over many decades.