The London stock market was dealt a fresh blow as Smurfit Kappa announced plans to merge with an American rival.

The FTSE 100 packaging giant, which has its headquarters in Dublin, is in ‘advanced talks’ with Georgia-based WestRock about a mega-deal worth £15billion.

The combined company, to be named Smurfit WestRock, would be listed on the New York Stock Exchange – meaning the cancellation of Smurfit’s London listing, which it has held since 2016.

The move is another setback for London as companies retreat from the City to the US.

CRH, the world’s largest building materials group and another Irish corporate giant, is switching its stock market listing to the US from London this month.

Making waves: Smurfit Kappa is a familiar name at sea, sponsoring Irish sailor Tom Dolan (pictured)

And London missed out on the hottest initial public offering of the year, with chip designer Arm shunning its homeland for New York instead.

Should the deal go through, Smurfit WestRock would retain a secondary listing in London and continue to be led by Tony Smurfit, who has been chief executive since 2015.

Neil Wilson, an analyst at Markets, said: ‘The UK used to be where companies would come to consolidate.

‘For many years it was the merger capital of the world. That reputation has been lost.

‘The London stock exchange needs to urgently look at what it can do to stop the rot.’ 

Packaging companies have been in demand since the pandemic as people stayed at home and became used to ordering items such as food and clothes to be delivered to their homes.

The rise of internet giants such as Amazon has also boosted the sector.

Smurfit has its roots in 1930s Dublin, when businessman Jefferson Smurfit was asked to revive a small manufacturing business which was owned by family members.

Jefferson Smurfit grew under the leadership of the founder’s son, Sir Michael Smurfit, who became chief executive in 1977 and went about undertaking acquisitions in the US, Latin America and Europe.

Smurfit has for decades been a driving force for Irish business long before the domestic economy took off in the 1990s.

It merged with Kappa Packaging in 2005, changing its name to Smurfit Kappa.

WestRock, the second-largest packaging company in the US behind International Paper, was formed in 2015 through the merger of Meadwestvaco and Rocktenn.

International Paper tried to buy Smurfit Kappa in 2018 for £8billion but was rejected.

Smurfit Kappa said the new deal would create the world’s ‘go-to’ supplier with annual revenue of £27billion and 100,000 employees in 42 markets.

Its headquarters would be in Dublin, with an American base in Georgia. The deal would offer ‘complementary portfolios with unique product diversity and innovative sustainability capabilities,’ the company. 

Smurfit Kappa shares fell 3.8 per cent, or 122p, to 3096p.

Hello and welcome to Mail Sport’s live coverage of today’s Ashes finale, with England and Australia playing out the final day of the fifth Test. 

This talented photographer captures mountainscapes so otherworldly that it’s hard to believe they exist on planet Earth.

As a matter of fact, professional photographer Aytek Cetin says that some people question whether the landscapes he’s captured are real, as they look so unearthly.

The 41-year-old Turkish photographer, who also tutors fellow photographers in private photography tours and online classes, tells MailOnline Travel: ‘Sometimes we can be prejudiced about geography that we have not seen before. For example, for a photograph I took in Cappadocia [a region in Turkey], someone claimed that it was not a real place… I explained to this person that it was a real place and that I took others to this place to take pictures.’

Detailing why he’s drawn to epic mountain scenes, Cetin says: ‘What impresses me the most about mountains is that they are the most powerful beings of nature. They have been there in all their glory for millions of years and will continue to be.’ 

The photographer, who is drumming up a sizeable Instagram following – 87,000 followers and counting – explains that he sets out to ‘draw’ viewers into a mountain scene and ‘make them feel [like] they are there’ with his photography. He notes: ‘To do this, I try to use different perspectives than the scenes other people are accustomed to seeing.’

Capturing these remote landscapes is not without its challenges. As there’s often no transportation to off-grid peaks, Cetin regularly has to walk long distances carrying his camping gear and his camera equipment, which can weigh more than 70lb (31 kilos). The hard work is worth it, however, for the magical photographs he can capture. Scroll down to see evidence of a photographer at the peak of his powers…

This dramatic mountain shot was captured in the Kackar Mountains National Park – a hotspot for hiking and climbing – in the Black Sea Region of Turkey. Cetin describes the location as one of the ‘undiscovered valleys of [the] Black Sea’ 

LEFT: This mystical picture shows the bizarre rock formations in the Goreme National Park of Turkey’s Cappadocia region in the first light of the morning. Cetin says: ‘As a landscape photographer, I can say that I feel at home when I am in nature. I like to take pictures away from the crowd, where I feel like I can breathe.’ RIGHT: Cetin turned his camera on Lake Meke, a volcanic crater lake in Turkey’s Konya Province, for this mesmerising photograph

Ama Dablam, a 6,812m- (22,349ft) high peak in the Himalayas in Nepal, is the subject of this enchanting photograph. Cetin admits: ‘I don’t remember any sight giving me joy more than watching the magnificent Ama Dablam at sunset’ 

LEFT: This transfixing shot was taken in the Goreme National Park in Turkey’s Cappadocia region. RIGHT: Cetin describes this scene – captured in the Svaneti region in the Greater Caucasus mountain range in Georgia – as ‘unforgettable’

This spectacular panorama shot shows the wooden houses of the 2,170m- (7,119ft) high Pokut plateau in the Turkish province of Rize

LEFT: This otherworldly photograph was taken in the Martian Mountains – also known as the Merrikhi Mountains – in the southeastern Sistan and Balouchestan province of Iran. Cetin describes them as the ‘razor-sharp mountains of Iran’. RIGHT: Iran’s distinctive Martian Mountains are also the subject of this stunning photograph

LEFT: Khumbila, a 5,761m (18,901ft) mountain in the Himalayas in Nepal, is cleverly framed by trees in this spellbinding photograph, which was captured during a sunrise. RIGHT: Daisies spill over a grassy hilltop in this beautiful shot by Cetin, captured in Turkey’s Kackar Mountains National Park. Cetin reflects: ‘You can always get dramatic [weather] conditions in the Black Sea mountains’

This atmospheric picture shows the mountain of Taboche (background) in the Khumbu region of the Himalayas in Nepal. It was taken at an altitude of 4,500m (14,763ft), Cetin reveals 

LEFT: Turkey’s ‘wild’ Kackar Mountains National Park was the setting for this astonishing photograph. RIGHT: This epic photograph was captured near the small town of Mestia in the Caucasus Mountains in northwest Georgia

This stunning shot shows Mount Kazbek, a stratovolcano in the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia, illuminated by the first light of day

• To see more photography from Aytek Cetin, visit his Instagram profile and his website.