Displaying items by tag: NewPage Corporation

Settlement Enables Completion of Acquisition in Early January 2015

Verso Paper Corp. (NYSE: VRS), a leading North American producer of printing and specialty papers and pulp, has announced that it has reached a settlement with the United States Department of Justice that will permit Verso to proceed with its acquisition of NewPage Holdings Inc. The transaction, valued at approximately $1.4 billion, originally was announced on January 6, 2014. Upon the completion of the NewPage acquisition, Verso will have approximately $3.5 billion in annual sales and approximately 5,800 employees in eight mills across six states.

As part of the settlement process, the United States today filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that Verso's proposed acquisition of NewPage would violate the antitrust laws. At the same time, the United States filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, will resolve the lawsuit and enable the transaction to proceed. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions.

The proposed settlement requires the divestiture of NewPage's paper mills in Biron, Wisconsin, and Rumford, Maine, as previously announced on October 30, 2014. The proposed settlement will be published in the Federal Register and will be subject to public comment, as required by the Antitrust Procedures and Penalties Act (known as the Tunney Act).

Verso expects to complete the NewPage acquisition in early January 2015. NewPage is expected to complete the divestiture of the Biron and Rumford mills to a subsidiary of Catalyst Paper Corporation in connection with Verso's acquisition of NewPage.

"The combination of Verso and NewPage will create a stronger, more stable company that will be better positioned to serve our customers and compete in a competitive global marketplace," said David J. Paterson, Verso's president and chief executive officer. "We are pleased that we were able to address the concerns of the Justice Department while preserving the benefits of the transaction for our stockholders and customers."

"Although this transaction has been among the most challenging and complex, the resulting combination will create value for all of our constituents, particularly our shareholders," said Mark Angelson, the chairman of NewPage. "We would not have come this far without critical input from the Justice Department and the advisors, key shareholders and directors of both companies."

Following the completion of the NewPage acquisition, Verso's existing senior leadership team will continue to lead the combined company.

About Verso
Verso Paper Corp. is a leading North American producer of coated papers, including coated groundwood and coated freesheet, and specialty products. Verso is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, and owns and operates two paper mills located in Maine and Michigan. Verso's paper products are used primarily in media and marketing applications, including magazines, catalogs and commercial printing applications such as high-end advertising brochures, annual reports and direct-mail advertising. Additional information about Verso is available on its website at www.versopaper.com .

Forward-Looking Statements
In this press release, all statements that are not purely historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project," "plan," "estimate," "intend" and other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on currently available business, economic, financial and other information and reflect management's current beliefs, expectations and views with respect to future developments and their potential effects on Verso. Actual results could vary materially depending on risks and uncertainties that may affect Verso and its business. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, please refer to Verso's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Verso assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement made in this press release to reflect subsequent events or circumstances or actual outcomes.

Contact
Verso Paper Corp.
Robert P. Mundy
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
001-901-369-4128
Email Contact
www.versopaper.com

Source: Verso Paper Corp.

Published in North American News

2014-09-11 064145 newpageNewPage Corporation (NewPage), a leading supplier of specialty papers, has launched the fourth edition of its PAPER@WORK Brief series at Labelexpo Americas titled, UNTAPPED POTENTIAL: How paper labels make your craft beers shine.

This new PAPER@WORK Brief explores how the rapid growth of craft beers in America is creating a greater need for breweries to better differentiate themselves in a crowded cooler, and how paper labels can be used in compelling new ways to better connect with consumers.

"A renaissance of local brewing is taking place all across America," said Ed Buehler, vice president of specialty papers for NewPage. "The changing tastes of consumers are driving bold new opportunities for craft beers, and our new brief outlines the role paper beer labels can play in conveying a brewery's core values, as well as techniques for using paper to attract and inspire consumers.''

PAPER@WORK is an ongoing series of briefings from NewPage detailing a spectrum of important topics impacting the world of specialty papers.

Please visit www.wherepaperworks.com/UntappedPotential-brief to download this FREE PAPER@WORK Brief or obtain a copy by visiting the NewPage booth #1539 at Labelexpo Americas 2014 in Chicago, Illinois, September 9 - 11, 2014.

SOURCE NewPage Corporation

Published in North American News
Wednesday, 03 April 2013 16:00

Luke’s ‘black liquor’ legislation founders

A bill supported by environmental organizations that carved out an important exception for the Luke paper mill is struggling after being rejected by a House committee.

While the bill remains alive in the Senate, the prognosis for final passage is uncertain.

Should the bill fail, it returns the situation to the status quo and the Luke mill would be unaffected, officials said.

But the status quo is a bad idea, said a spokesman for a key Maryland environmental group.

newpage forest pic“This critical bill for Maryland consumers and the environment overwhelmingly passed the Senate with bipartisan support and came just one vote short of passage in a key House committee. Unfortunately, a handful of delegates decided to continue to send Maryland ratepayer dollars to out-of-state, polluting companies. This bill would have supported new, clean-energy jobs in Maryland,” said Tom Carlson, the Maryland campaign director for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

Carlson said he wasn’t sure how likely reviving the bill in the House was, but the network would continue to work with delegates.

Fighting the battle against industry lobbyists in Annapolis isn’t an easy task, Carlson said.

“The Senate version of the bill remains alive and could be acted on favorably by a ... House committee in the next week if any delegate reconsiders their position,” Carlson said.

The bill passed the Senate 33-13 on March 28, but the companion House bill was reported unfavorably by the House Economic Matters Committee by one vote on April 1.     

The bill includes a list of renewable energy sources and makes the Luke paper plant eligible for renewable energy certificates.

“It’s like taking 250,000 cars off the road,” said Carlson.

The bill is also good for consumers, because it stops tax dollars from going to out-of-state companies.

In 2011, Carlson said, the certificates were worth $3.8 million, 91 percent of which ended up out of state.

The energy certificates can be traded and sold. Their value is equal to one megawatt-hour of electricity generated by a renewable energy source.

The certificates are expected to grow in value as time passes, sending more money to out of state companies, Carlson said.

It could amount to a value of $33 million heading out of state next year, Carlson said.

“The longer we wait, the worse this is. ... It’s outrageous,” Carlson said.

The initial bill would have redefined renewable energy sources to exclude “black liquor,” Carlson said.

The current bill’s certificates for the mill would expire in 2018.

The bill, though, directs the governor to find funding for the plant equivalent to what they might lose from phase-out of the certificates.

New Page Corp., based in Miamisburg, Ohio, owns the Luke mill and is a leading producer of coated paper in North America that operates 10 paper mills with 20 paper machines in the U.S. and Canada.

Published in North American News

The Point Tupper paper mill has been running smoothly since its restart, according a delegation from the plant.

During the regular monthly meeting of Port Hawkesbury town council on Tuesday, three employees of the plant’s new owner, Port Hawkesbury Paper, painted a rosy picture of the mill’s operations.

Foncie Farrell, mill operations superintendent for Cape Breton, said production at the plant has exceeded expectations.

and hawks

“The restart went very well considering the mill was down for over a year,” said Farrell. “It was kept in a state of hot idle, and that means the machines were turned regularly.”
In addition to having the mill produce excellent product, Farrell said he was surprised to have such a positive response from wood contractors who in many cases had started selling their materials to other mills.

As part of a new agreement, the mill has entered into a partnership with smaller mills to help it produce its raw product.

“It’s our intention, if a landowner or contractor wants to sell us everything that he harvests off his woodlot, we want to be able to buy that,” said Farrell. “We can market that to other markets.”

The mill, formerly operated by NewPage Port Hawkesbury, shut down in September 2011.

In October, the first roll of glossy magazine-style paper rolled off the production line.

Since that time, 304 people, including 267 full-time employees, have started work at the mill in various departments, including operations, maintenance, administration, forestry and salary.

While the mill remains a significant employer in the Strait region, there has been a net loss of about 250 jobs as the new owner has chosen to forgo producing a newsprint line.
Comments made around the table at council were positive toward the company’s purchase of the mill.

“You can just (be) happy that Mayor MacLean’s not here because he’d be hugging and kissing you,” said Coun. Bert Lewis. “Everybody in the region is very, very happy that the mill is up and running again.”

Deputy mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton echoed the sentiment of gratitude toward the mill’s operator.

“It’s such a wonderful thing to have you here and for you to express such great news,” she said.

Andrea Coombs, an outreach worker at the plant, said Port Hawkesbury Paper is currently the only large forestry operation that is certified to the Maritime standard in Atlantic Canada.
The mill is certified under the Forestry Stewardship Council, which includes certification from the process of moving wood out of the forest, down to selling the product to a paper customer.

“It really helps us when we get to those higher levels to compete with other companies, when we have that certification,” Coombs said.

Published in Canadian News

It is a blast from the recent past, but NewPage Holdings Inc.’s annual report may hold some interest for Nova Scotians.

newpage largeNewPage Holdings, the new name of the former owner of the NewPage Port Hawkesbury paper plant at the Strait of Canso, booked an US$18 million gain after the “deconsolidation” of the Nova Scotia plant from its American operations.

In the 2012 annual report of its predecessor company filed over the weekend, NewPage Holdings management said it separated NewPage Port Hawkesbury from its operations in the United States effective Sept. 6, 2011, because it “lost control” of the Nova Scotia plant as part of a settlement agreement under the federal Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.

The Ohio-based company reported a 2012 profit of about US$1.3 billion (US$12.58 per share) on sales of US$3.1 billion. NewPage also reported a loss of US$498 million on sales of US$3.5 billion in 2011 and a loss of US$656 million on about US$3.6 billion in sales in 2010.

Most Nova Scotia taxpayers know the sad story of NewPage Port Hawkesbury and would be happy never to see the name NewPage again.

After NewPage sought protection from creditors in September 2011, it threw the Strait of Canso and northern Nova Scotia into an economic crisis. The NDP government stepped in with $36.8 million to keep the plant on “hot idle” to allow a quick restart of the operation once a new buyer was found.

Eventually, Stern Partners Inc. of Vancouver acquired the paper mill after the provincial government agreed to put up $124.5 million over 10 years. Before that, the workforce and pensioners also agreed to accept major concessions, including a major downgrade of pension benefits.

In its annual report, NewPage Holdings, which emerged from creditor protection in the U.S. on Dec. 21, indicated that as a result of the deconsolidation of NewPage Port Hawkesbury, the company adopted the cost method of accounting for its Nova Scotia investment.

“Upon adoption of the cost method, we evaluated our investment in (NewPage Port Hawkesbury) for impairment and determined that our entire investment had experienced an other-than-temporary decline in value and was fully impaired,” management said.

“As a result of the de-recognition of the assets and liabilities, combined with the settlement payment and fair value of the remaining equity interest, the deconsolidation of the  (Port Hawkesbury) subsidiary resulted in an US$18 (million) gain recorded in reorganization items, net.”

NewPage also says the biomass project it planned to build at the Nova Scotia plant, in conjunction with Nova Scotia Power Inc., was part of the settlement under the arrangement with creditors, and some of the rights were given to Nova Scotia Power.

The power utility and the new owner of the paper mill have now adopted the operating agreement Nova Scotia Power had with NewPage, said the U.S. paper company.

In general, NewPage now says demand for its printing and writing paper products could be adversely affected by the economy and growth in the Internet. In fact, it says economic conditions and shifting consumer preferences have had an adverse effect on NewPage since 2008.

“Although advertising and print media usage began to increase during the second half of 2010 and initial months of 2011, demand began to decline later in 2011 and continued into 2012 due to lower advertising (spending) in an uncertain economy, coupled with a shift to electronic media (both content and advertising),” management said in the report.

source:  http://thechronicleherald.ca  By ROGER TAYLOR | Business Columnist (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Published in Canadian News
Tagged under

NewPage Holdings Inc. (NewPage) has posted its 2012 Annual Report on the NewPage Corporation website, www.NewPageCorp.com.

About NewPage Corporation

NewPage is a leading producer of printing and specialty papers in North America with $3.1 billion in net sales for the year ended December 31, 2012. NewPage is headquartered in Miamisburg, Ohio, and owns paper mills in Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. These mills have a total annual production capacity of approximately 3.5 million tons of paper.

The company's portfolio of paper products includes coated, supercalendered and specialty papers. These papers are used in commercial printing to create corporate collateral, magazines, catalogs, books, coupons, inserts and direct mail as well as in specialty paper applications including beverage bottle labels, food and medical packaging, pressure-sensitive labels and release liners. To learn more, visit www.NewPageCorp.com.

SOURCE NewPage Corporation

Published in Financial News

NewPageCorporation (NewPage), a leader in specialty papers for labeling and flexible packaging segments, has announced the launch of www.WherePaperWorks.com, a new website specifically designed as a comprehensive and easy-to-use on-line resource for converters, brand owners and end users of specialty papers. The new website features content on specialty paper applications, segments and innovation, including a downloadable calendar of industry events.

Created with the user experience firmly in mind, the website has been designed using the latest technology so the site is compatible with today's browsers and mobile devices. The site also includes news and social media content feeds, as well as a wide array of product information to help customers understand the complete range of specialty paper solutions at NewPage.

For more information, visit www.WherePaperWorks.com.

Published in North American News

NewPage Holdings Inc. has announced that on February 1, 2013, Patrick Buchenroth, age 45, accepted the position of controller and chief accounting officer for NewPage Holdings Inc. and NewPage Corporation, effective February 25, 2013.

From May 2012 through January 2013, Mr. Buchenroth served as senior vice president of finance at ACCO Brands Corporation, a global supplier of branded office products, following the company's acquisition of the Consumer and Office Products Division of MeadWestvaco Corporation, a global packaging company. Prior to the acquisition, from August 2005 through April 2012, he served as chief financial officer for MeadWestvaco Corporation's Consumer and Office Products Division. In 2005, he was part of a team that orchestrated the sale of MeadWestvaco Corporation's Paper Division to form NewPage Corporation. Prior to these roles, Mr. Buchenroth was an audit partner for Deloitte & Touche, a public accounting firm.

Mr. Buchenroth is a CPA and a graduate of Wright State University with a double major in Accountancy and Finance. He is also the treasurer of the United Way of the Greater Dayton Area.

SOURCE NewPage

Published in North American News

NewPage, the leading producer of printing and specialty papers in North America, announced that the launch of TrueJet® Book, a new addition to its award-winning TrueJet® Digital Coated Papers for production inkjet presses.

new kodakTrueJet Digital Coated Papers enable high speed, short run and variable data printing on production color inkjet equipment or related hybrid applications with offset class print quality and reduced total operating cost for the printer or publisher. Unlike conventional coated offset papers, TrueJet Digital Coated Papers are made with a combination of materials that result in improved inkjet ink dry times, improved inkjet print quality and productivity while maintaining the capability for offset printability in hybrid applications.

"The inkjet publishing segment is rapidly growing as books that were traditionally printed web offset are converted to inkjet printing," said Steven J. DeVoe, vice president, Marketing for NewPage. "TrueJet Book is designed specifically for high-speed, book publication print runs, is Forest Stewardship Council(FSC®) certified and meets NASTA (National Association of State Textbook Administrators) specifications."

"TrueJet Book is offered in a 45 lb. matte finish and delivers offset-like quality for full-color variable inkjet presses to meet the requirements of our book publishing customers," added Dennis Essary, director, Digital Papers for NewPage. "Customers who are looking for a better value proposition from an inkjet grade have a new option for the book publishing market based on the award-winning TrueJet design."

TrueJet Digital Coated Papers is a result of several years of research and development and on-press testing with some of the top manufacturers of high-speed inkjet presses. NewPage was granted U.S. Patent 7803224 for the technology, which enables coated papers to be printed via multiple processes of inkjet, offset and laser. Additional patents are pending.

TrueJet Book has been awarded Kodak's 4 Diamond Rating for use on the Kodak Prosper™ press, and has also been recognized for HP Tseries presses without the need for a bonding agent.

NewPage and its TrueJet line of coated papers were recipients of a 2011 InterTech Technology Award. Bestowed by the Printing Industries of America, the award recognizes technological innovations expected to have a major impact on the graphic communications industry.

Published in Featured Products

newpage largeNewPage Corporation (NewPage) has announced that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in Wilmington has confirmed the Company's Chapter 11 Plan (the "Plan"). The Plan was accepted by the overwhelming majority of NewPage creditors entitled to vote. The Company will now proceed to close on the restructuring transactions contemplated by the Plan.

"We are pleased that the Court has confirmed our Chapter 11 Plan, clearing the way for us to officially exit bankruptcy, hopefully by the end of this year," said George Martin, president and chief executive officer for NewPage. "We will exit bankruptcy with substantially less debt and new financing at lower interest rates. NewPage will be well positioned to serve the needs of our customers and compete successfully in the North American paper industry."

SOURCE NewPage Corporation

 

Published in Financial News
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