MeadWestvaco Spin Off Exchange Ratio Finalized, Effective May 1

MeadWestvaco(MWV) announced this morning that shareholders as of April 24, will receive .32986547 shares of ACCO Brands(ABD) on May 1, following the spinoff of the company’s Consumer & Office Products Business, and its subsequent merger with ACCO.  Concurrent with the merger, ACCO will change its ticker from ABD to ACCO.  The transaction is a “Reverse Morris Trust”, which is a tax-advantaged method for a company to sell of a division.  MeadWestvaco will receive $460 million in cash, while its shareholders will own 50.5% of the new ACCO Brands.

Disclosure: The author holds no position in any stock mentioned