Displaying items by tag: Fortress Paper Ltd

Fortress Paper Ltd. ("Fortress Paper" or the "Company") (TSX:FTP) is pleased to announce that it and its wholly owned subsidiary, Fortress Security Papers AG ("FSP"), have entered into a share purchase agreement (the "Share Purchase Agreement") with Glatfelter Gernsbach GmbH & Co. KG ("Glatfelter Gernsbach") and its parent, P.H. Glatfelter Co. ("Glatfelter"), pursuant to which FSP has agreed to sell all of the shares of its wholly owned subsidiary, Dresden Papier GmbH ("Dresden"), to Glatfelter Gernsbach for an aggregate purchase price of €160,000,000 (CDN$213 million), subject to working capital adjustment. The transaction is expected to close within the second quarter of 2013, but no later than June 30, 2013, and is subject to certain customary conditions, including governmental anti-trust approvals in Germany and the Ukraine.

Pursuant to the terms of the Share Purchase Agreement, the Company has agreed to guarantee the obligations of FSP and Glatfelter has agreed to guarantee the obligations of Glatfelter Gernsbach thereunder.

Dresden owns and operates the Company's Dresden Mill, a producer of non-woven wallpaper base paper operating in Germany.

Chadwick Wasilenkoff, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fortress Paper, commented "The sale of the Dresden Mill is an important step in Fortress Paper becoming a more focused global leader in the dissolving pulp industry. The transaction was part of our strategic plan to achieve significant liquidity to enhance future growth opportunities. We are very pleased to have been able to reach an agreement with P.H. Glatfelter and look forward to the finalization of the sale. We would also like to acknowledge the contributions of the Dresden management team over the years and wish them every success in the future."

Fortress Paper Ltd. has ramped up production of dissolving pulp at its Fortress Specialty Cellulose mill in Thurso, Que., to an average of approximately 92%. In recent weeks, the mill had averaged approximately 83%.

The mill commenced production of dissolving pulp at the end of 2011 and has been steadily improving its production efficiency and technical capabilities. Following initial delays, the mill recently took scheduled periods of downtime to eliminate process constraints.

Fortress reports that the dissolving pulp being produced is meeting customer specifications and shipments to viscose customers located in China are increasing in volume.

Chad Wasilenkoff, CEO of Fortress Paper, commented that the mill is well on its way to achieving the top quartile cost structure forecast by management, once its cogeneration facility is fully operational.

The co-gen plant is under construction, and expected to start up in 2013.

source: pulp&paper Canda