Jefferson Smurfit Appoints JP Morgan As ADR Depositary.

DUBLIN, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 30, 1999--

Jefferson Smurfit Group plc (The Group) (NYSE: JS), the Irish paper-based packaging group, today announced the appointment of JP Morgan as successor depositary for its New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listed American depositary receipt (ADR) program.

Jefferson Smurfit Group is a geographically balanced paper-based packaging group with operations in Europe, Latin America, the US and a modest presence in Asia. Including associate companies, the principal of which is 33.3% owned Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation, 89% of capacity relates to containerboard. The Group is the world's leading producer of both containerboard and corrugated containers.

Jefferson Smurfit Group was the first European paper and forest products company to undertake a NYSE ADR listing when it began trading on July 13, 1995. Each ADR represents 10 ordinary shares and approximately 8% of the issued capital is held in ADR form.

JP Morgan is the world's largest depositary bank based on total dollar trading volume and institutional investment. A global banking firm, JP Morgan serves clients through an integrated range of advisory, financing, trading, investment management and research capabilities.

For more information of Jefferson Smurfit and other ADRs, visit www.adr.com., JP Morgan's central resource for timely worldwide market intelligence and investor information. For more information on Jefferson Smurfit Group and JP Morgan, please visit www.smurfit.ie and www.jpmorgan.com respectively.

Jefferson Smurfit Group ADRs trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol JS. Jefferson Smurfit Group ordinary shares trade in Dublin and London, and information can be accessed on Bloomberg under the symbols SMFT.ID and SMFT.LN respectively and on Reuters under SMFT.I and SMFT.L.