M&A

1 December, 2009

CORRECTED - UPDATE 1-Smurfit-Stone sets reorganization plan

(Corrects bullet point and 2nd paragraph to show Canadian subsidiaries to merge into one Canadian entity, not being sold to outside party)

* Files Chapter 11 plan and disclosure statement

* Canadian assets merged into one Canadian entity

* To seek listing of new common stock (Writes through, adds detail)

Dec 1 (Reuters) - Bankrupt corrugated packaging maker Smurfit-Stone Container Corp (SSCCQ.PK) filed a Chapter 11 plan and disclosure statement in a Delaware bankruptcy court early on Tuesday, court papers showed.

The plan calls for the company to form a new Canadian subsidiary which will acquire all of the assets and certain liabilities of Smurfit's current Canadian units. This will allow the company to merge all the Canadian operations into one new entity, which will then become a subsidiary of Smurfit.

The plan has to be approved by claimholders before it can be confirmed by the court.

In court papers, the company said it will use "commercially reasonable efforts" to list its new common stock on the NYSE or Nasdaq.

Smurfit-Stone said its total assets had a net book value of about $5.28 billion and total debt of about $6.6 billion as of Sept. 30, 2009.

The company's U.S. and Canadian operations filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January, hurt by declining packaging demand.

Smurfit-Stone, which makes pizza boxes, "clamshell" packages for the food industry and pulp for shopping bags, is one of the largest U.S. corrugated packaging makers. (Reporting by Santosh Nadgir in Bangalore; Editing by David Holmes and Carol Bishopric) ((santosh.nadgir@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S +1 646 223 8780; Outside U.S +91 080 4135 5800; Reuters messaging: santosh.nadgir.reuters.com@reuters.net))

Source: http://www.reuters.com