DS Smith Plc ("the Company")
Transactions by Persons Discharging Managerial Responsibilities ("PDMRs")
31 January 2025
On 16 April 2024, the boards of the Company and International Paper Company announced that they had agreed the terms of a recommended all-share combination of the Company and International Paper Company, pursuant to which International Paper Company will acquire the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of the Company, to be effected by way of a Court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement (the "Scheme") under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006. The circular in relation to the Scheme was published on 11 September 2024.
On 30 January 2025, the Company announced that the Court had sanctioned the Scheme at the Court Hearing held on that day.
As a result of the Court sanction of the Scheme, on 30 January 2025 options over the Company's ordinary shares of 10p each ("Shares") granted on 11 July 2024, 8 February 2024, 10 July 2023, and 27 June 2022 under the terms of the DS Smith Deferred Share Bonus Plan ("DSBP"), the DS Smith 2008 Performance Share Plan ("PSP"), the DS Smith Plc 2020 Sharesave Plan ("Sharesave"), and awards granted on 27 April 2023 in connection with the Chief Financial Officer's recruitment ("Recruitment Awards"), vested to the following PDMRs, and, in the case of options, were exercised by the following PDMRs, as shown in the table below. The exercise of the options granted under the DSBP and PSP, and the vesting of the Recruitment Awards, was settled on a net settled basis, resulting in the delivery of shares in the amounts set out below.
| Name |
Number of DSBP options vested and exercised |
Number of PSP options vested and exercised |
Number of dividend equivalent Shares on vested PSP and DSBP options |
Number of Sharesave options vested and exercised |
Number of Recruitment Awards vested |
Total number of vested Shares |
Total number of Shares delivered |
| Miles Roberts |
627,896 |
966,543 |
188,644 |
- |
- |
1,783,083 |
945,033 |
| Richard Pike |
20,328 |
312,355 |
28,997 |
- |
128,166 |
489,846 |
259,618 |
| Stefano Rossi |
171,532 |
258,887 |
50,934 |
1,063 |
- |
482,416 |
256,180 |
The forms required under the Market Abuse Regulation follow.
| 1 |
Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities / person closely associated |
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| a) |
Name |
MILES WILLIAM ROBERTS |
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| 2 |
Reason for the notification |
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| a) |
Position/status |
GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE |
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| b) |
Initial notification /Amendment |
INITIAL NOTIFICATION |
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| 3 |
Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor |
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| a) |
Name |
DS SMITH PLC |
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| b) |
LEI |
39RSBE4RCI4M15BLWH36 |
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| 4 |
Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted |
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| a) |
Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument Identification code |
ORDINARY SHARES OF 10 PENCE EACH SMDS |
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| b) |
Nature of the transaction |
Vesting and exercise of DSBP options granted on 11 July 2024, 10 July 2023 and 27 June 2022 under the terms of the DS Smith Deferred Share Bonus Plan and vesting and exercise of PSP options granted on 11 July 2024, 10 July 2023 and 27 June 2022 under the terms of the DS Smith 2008 Performance Share Plan, and associated dividend equivalent Shares. |
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| c) |
Price(s) and volume(s) |
|
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| d) |
Aggregated information - Aggregated volume - Price |
945,033 £NIL |
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| e) |
Date of the transaction |
30 January 2025 |
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| f) |
Place of the transaction |
LONDON |
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| 1 |
Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities / person closely associated |
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| a) |
Name |
RICHARD PIKE |
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| 2 |
Reason for the notification |
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| a) |
Position/status |
GROUP FINANCE DIRECTOR |
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| b) |
Initial notification /Amendment |
INITIAL NOTIFICATION |
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| 3 |
Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor |
||||||||||||||||
| a) |
Name |
DS SMITH PLC |
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| b) |
LEI |
39RSBE4RCI4M15BLWH36 |
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| 4 |
Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted |
||||||||||||||||
| a) |
Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument Identification code |
ORDINARY SHARES OF 10 PENCE EACH SMDS |
|||||||||||||||
| b) |
Nature of the transaction |
Vesting and exercise of DSBP options granted on 11 July 2024 under the terms of the DS Smith Deferred Share Bonus Plan and vesting and exercise of PSP options granted on 11 July 2024 and 10 July 2023 under the terms of the DS Smith 2008 Performance Share Plan, and associated dividend equivalent Shares. Vesting of awards granted on 27 April 2023 in connection with Richard Pike's recruitment. |
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| c) |
Price(s) and volume(s) |
|
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| d) |
Aggregated information - Aggregated volume - Price |
259,618 £NIL |
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| e) |
Date of the transaction |
30 January 2025 |
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| f) |
Place of the transaction |
LONDON |
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| 1 |
Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities / person closely associated |
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| a) |
Name |
STEFANO ROSSI |
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| 2 |
Reason for the notification |
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| a) |
Position/status |
CHIEF EXECUTIVE PACKAGING |
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| b) |
Initial notification /Amendment |
INITIAL NOTIFICATION |
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| 3 |
Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor |
||||||||||||||||
| a) |
Name |
DS SMITH PLC |
|||||||||||||||
| b) |
LEI |
39RSBE4RCI4M15BLWH36 |
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| 4 |
Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted |
||||||||||||||||
| a) |
Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument Identification code |
ORDINARY SHARES OF 10 PENCE EACH SMDS |
|||||||||||||||
| b) |
Nature of the transaction |
Vesting and exercise of DSBP options granted on 11 July 2024, 10 July 2023 and 27 June 2022 under the terms of the DS Smith Deferred Share Bonus Plan and vesting and exercise of PSP options granted on 11 July 2024, 10 July 2023 and 27 June 2022 under the terms of the DS Smith 2008 Performance Share Plan, and associated dividend equivalent Shares. Vesting and exercise of options granted on 8 February 2024 under the terms of the DS Smith Plc 2020 Sharesave Plan. |
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| c) |
Price(s) and volume(s) |
|
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| d) |
Aggregated information - Aggregated volume - Price |
256,180 DSBP/PSP: £NIL; Sharesave: £2.35 |
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| e) |
Date of the transaction |
30 January 2025 |
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| f) |
Place of the transaction |
LONDON |
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