Mergers & Acquisitions

Quad/Graphics, Inc. announced that it has sold its QuadExpress third-party logistics (3PL) business for $40 million to Mullen Group Ltd., one of Canada's largest logistics providers. QuadExpress joins Mullen Group's network of independently operated businesses that provide a broad range of service offerings including less-than-truckload, truckload, warehousing, logistics, transload, oversized and specialized hauling transportation.

Huhtamaki has completed the acquisition of Jiangsu Hihio-Art Packaging Co. Ltd.'s assets. Jiangsu Hihio-Art Packaging is a privately owned manufacturer of paper bags, wraps and folding carton packaging in China. The acquisition strengthens Huhtamaki's position as the leading foodservice packaging provider in Asia and expands its product portfolio allowing it to better serve both existing and new customers in China.

On June 8, the State Assembly's Committee on State Affairs voted to pass Assembly Bill No. 367 (AB 367), which will provide state assistance to support the purchase of the former Verso paper mill in Wisconsin Rapids.

Prairie Industries, along with its partner company Nu-Pak, announced its new name for the combined organization: Truvant. The announcement coincides with Prairie's recent acquisition of Sonoco's European contract packaging business.

Smurfit Kappa Group, one of the world's largest integrated manufacturers of paper-based packaging products with operations in Europe and the Americas, is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of Cartones del Pacifico, a leading paper-based packaging company in Peru.

Ennis, Inc. announced its acquisition of the assets and business from AmeriPrint Corporation in Harvard, Illinois. The closing occurred on Monday, May 31, 2021, Memorial Day. AmeriPrint Corporation is a trade printer specializing in custom-printed documents, barcoding, integrated products, and business forms.

Further to the announcement on February 16, 2021, that the hygiene and health company Essity had entered an agreement to acquire the remaining 63.8% of the shares in the Australian hygiene company Asaleo Care, Essity today notes the announcement by Asaleo Care, that the company's shareholders voted in favor of accepting Essity's offer.

International Paper Company has completed the sale of its 90.38% shareholdings interest in Olmuksan International Paper to Mondi Group for roughly €66 million ($81 million). This Olmuksan business includes five corrugated packaging facilities in Turkey, with an annual converting capacity of three hundred thousand tons.

A nonprofit group says it has bought more than 6,150 acres (2,488 hectares) of forest to be kept in conservation in southeast Georgia.

The total purchase price of US$375 MM, which includes working capital, will be funded entirely from cash on hand.

Stora Enso has signed an agreement to divest its Sachsen Mill located in Eilenburg, Germany, to the Swiss-based family-owned company Model Group. Sachsen Mill has an annual production capacity of 310 000 tonnes of newsprint specialty paper based on recycled paper.

Flexo is a manufacturer of stock, custom and recycled paper bags and sacks. It is headquartered and has a manufacturing facility in Meriden, Conn. and an additional plant in Monroe, Ga. Flexo's eligible full-time employees are expected to join Novolex.

Graphic Packaging Holding Company announced the conclusion of its successful partnership with International Paper Company. The final tranche of the membership interests held by International Paper in Graphic Packaging International Partners, LLC (the "Partnership") were exchanged for an equivalent number of shares of Graphic Packaging common stock. As a result, Graphic Packaging now owns 100% of the Partnership.

Dennis Schoeneck, the president of the Timber Professionals Cooperative, said the group has continued talking with Verso about a potential sale of the Rapids mill, although there hasn't been a deal on the table yet.

ST aims to convert the mill to produce tissue paper, instead of the supercalendered paper it has traditionally manufactured. ST Paper had been negotiating to purchase the mill and convert it to tissue paper production at an anticipated cost of about $54 million.

Glatfelter Corporation, a leading global supplier of engineered materials, announced it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Georgia-Pacific's U.S. nonwovens business for $175 million, subject to customary purchase price adjustments.

Graphic Packaging Holding Company, a leading vertically-integrated provider of sustainable fiber-based consumer packaging solutions, and CVC Capital Partners Fund VI today announced a definitive agreement under which Graphic Packaging will acquire AR Packaging Group AB ("AR Packaging"), Europe's second largest producer of fiber-based consumer packaging, for approximately $1.45 billion in cash, subject to customary adjustments.

BTG Pactual announced that a consortium led by its Timberland Investment Group (TIG), along with British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), one of Canada's largest institutional investors, and APG, one of the world's largest pension providers, has agreed to acquire Chilean timberland assets from Arauco for US$ 385.5 million.

UPM has signed an agreement to sell its Shotton newsprint mill site in North Wales, United Kingdom and all related assets to Eren Paper Ltd, a subsidiary of Modern Karton Sanayi Ve Ticaret A.Ş., the containerboard and corrugated packaging business of the Turkish industrial conglomerate Eren Holding ("Eren").

Paper Excellence, a global diversified manufacturer of pulp and specialty, printing, writing, and packaging papers, and Domtar, a leading provider of fiber-based products, announced that they have entered into a strategic business combination under which the Paper Excellence group of companies will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Domtar common stock for $55.50 per share, in cash.

The Duluth City Council unanimously agreed Monday night to abate up to $600,000 in property taxes and offer a $242,000 forgivable loan to ST Paper to help the company complete an acquisition of Verso Corp.'s Duluth mill, which has been shuttered since last summer.

Rep. Scott Krug (R-Rome) and Sen. Patrick Testin (R-Stevens Point) have authored a bill to provide assistance in the purchase of the Verso paper mill in Wisconsin Rapids.

Weyerhaeuser Company announced the completion of its acquisition of 69,200 acres of high-quality Alabama timberlands from Soterra, a subsidiary of Greif, Inc., for approximately $149 million earlier this week. Separately, the company announced an agreement to sell 145,000 acres of timberlands in the North Cascades region of Washington to Hampton Resources for $266 million.

UFP Industries, Inc. announced that a wholly owned subsidiary of UFP Construction, LLC, has acquired the assets of Endurable Building Products, LLC.

Pending approval from the bankruptcy court, the former Ponderay Newsprint Mill will be reopened as a corrugated cardboard paper production facility, according to court filings sent from Chapter 7 Trustee John D. Munding. Allrise Capital had the winning bid, in the amount of $18,100,000.