New bids for Smurfit business

CVC and Nordic Capital are to make a bid for Jefferson Smurfit Group’s Scandinavian paper and packaging business, sources said.

The other two bids shortlisted for Smurfit Munksjo, which makes paper, pulp and tissue, are Electra Partners Europe and Scandinavian buyout firm EQT.

The next round of bids is due towards the end of October, and the sale is expected to conclude this year, the sources said.

Smurfit was bought by US private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners in September 2002 in a $3.8 billion leveraged buyout, one of the largest in Europe to date.

The company reported a 95% fall in 2003 pre-tax profit, which it attributed to interest charges on its leveraged capital structure.