DS Smith’s £5.8bn takeover by US rival going ahead despite competition

DS Smith makes the cardboard boxes by retailers such as Amazon and Unilever. Photograph: Oscar Wong/Getty Images

The boss of the FTSE 100 company DS Smith has said its £5.8bn takeover by a US rival is going at “absolutely full steam”, despite concerns it could be derailed by another packaging sector merger.

Miles Roberts, DS Smith’s chief executive, said merger work with International Paper was “going very well” and that he definitely expected the deal to complete.