Marietta, Georiga, USA, 17 September 2008 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE: GPK), announced today that it has completed the divestiture of two coated-recycled board (CRB) mills with the approval of the U.S. Department of Justice pursuant to the Consent Decree governing the combination of Graphic Packaging International, Inc. and Altivity Packaging, LLC in March 2008. As announced previously, the company is selling the CRB mills, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Wabash, Indiana, to an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. known as PaperWorks Industries, Inc.

"We are pleased that the divestiture has been approved by the Department of Justice and we will remain focused on producing paperboard as part of our core business," said David W. Scheible, president and chief executive officer, Graphic Packaging. "By completing these sales quickly, we may continue to move forward aggressively to achieve our announced synergy target of USD 90 million by 2010, two years ahead of plan," Scheible said.

Graphic Packaging is a leading manufacturer of paperboard, with an annual capacity of approximately 855,000 tons of coated-recycled board and approximately 1.3 million tons of coated unbleached kraft paperboard.

About Graphic Packaging Holding Company

Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE: GPK), headquartered in Marietta, Georgia, is a leading provider of paperboard packaging solutions for a wide variety of products to food, beverage, and other consumer products companies. The company is one of the largest producers of folding cartons and holds a leading market position in coated-recycled boxboard and specialty bag packaging. The company's customers include some of the most widely recognized companies in the world. Additional information about Graphic Packaging, its business, and its products is available on the company's Web site at www.graphicpkg.com .

About PaperWorks Industries, Inc. and Sun Capital Partners, Inc.

PaperWorks Industries, Inc., a newly formed company, is an affiliated portfolio company of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. Sun Capital Partners, Inc. is a leading private investment firm focused on leveraged buyouts, equity, debt, and other investments in market-leading companies that can benefit from its in-house operating professionals and experience. Sun Capital affiliates have invested in and managed 200 companies worldwide with combined sales in excess of USD 40.0 billion since Sun Capital's inception in 1995. Sun Capital has offices in Boca Raton, Los Angeles, and New York and affiliates with offices in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo, and Shenzhen. For more information, visit www.SunCapPart.com .