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Activist Investor Ancora Backs Amcor’s Berry Deal

Printing cylinders sit on storage shelves in the warehouse inside an Amcor Ltd. packaging plant in Lugo di Vicenza, Italy, on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. Australia's Amcor agreed to acquire U.S. competitor Bemis Co. in an all-stock deal to expand sales of plastic packaging in the Americas. (Alberto Bernasconi/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- The market hasn’t yet recognized the value that will be created by packaging company Amcor Plc’s $8.4 billion takeover agreement last month for Berry Global Group Inc., Ancora said at the Bloomberg Activism Forum 2024.

Amcor’s share price could eventually rise to about $16 thanks to the deal, representing an upside of 50% to 70% from its current price of about $10, said Jim Chadwick, president of Ancora Alternatives LLC during a presentation. Much of that will be driven by at least $650 million in potential synergies from the deal — a conservative estimate, of the cost-savings to be realized, Chadwick said. 

Activist investor Ancora, which has amassed a stake of more than $100 million in Berry since 2021, has urged the company to explore a sale, according to a letter at the time. Amcor announced the deal to acquire Berry last month.

The packaging industry has seen a furry of deals in recent months, including this week’s combination of Apollo Global Management Inc.-owned Novolex with rival Pactiv Evergreen Inc. as well as International Paper Co.’s move to buy DS Smith Plc. 

A representative for Amcor declined to comment. A representative for Berry didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Berry reached a cooperation agreement with Ancora and another activist investor Eminence Capital in 2022 alongside the appointment of three new board directors at the time. The company also set up a capital allocation committee and later spun off its health and hygiene business before the tie-up with Amcor. 

(Updates with Amcor representative declining to comment in penultimate paragraph.)

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