NewPage to shut down some operations, eliminate about 660 jobs

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/gen/ap/OH_NewPage_Jobs.html

A company that supplies paper to catalog and magazine publishers said Wednesday that it will shut down some operations at plants in Ohio, Wisconsin and Maine, eliminating about 660 jobs.

NewPage Corp. said the cuts come as it integrates the North American operations of Finland-based Stora Enso Oyj that it bought for about $2.1 billion last September. NewPage acquired eight factories in the deal....

NewPage, owned by private equity firm Cerberus Capital , has said the deal with Stora Enso will give it a boost in the shrinking U.S. paper industry that it CLAIMS has been hurt by Chinese imports and increasing use of the Internet.



Stora Enso finalises divestment of its North American paper operations to NewPage

On 21 December 2007 Stora Enso finalised the divestment of Stora Enso North America Inc (SENA), its North American subsidiary, to NewPage Corporation ("NewPage"), a leading North American coated paper producer, ahead of the schedule anticipated when the divestment was announced on 21 September 2007.

The transaction consideration comprises USD 1 500 million (EUR 1 045 million) in cash (subject to final adjustment for working capital and net indebtedness), in nominal value of USD 200 million (EUR 139 million) in vendor notes and 19.9% of the shares outstanding in the new company valued at approximately USD 370 million (EUR 258 million). NewPage will also assume net liabilities of about USD 450 million (EUR 314 million).

The transaction will generate a loss of approximately EUR 37 million in the fourth quarter of 2007 based on the balance sheet as of the end November 2007 and is therefore subject to fair valuation of pension assets and other final closing adjustments. The final financial effects of this transaction on Stora Enso will be disclosed on 13 February 2008 when Stora Enso's full year results for 2007 are released.

As part of the transaction, Stora Enso will divest eight publication paper, fine paper and speciality paper mills, which will reduce the Group's annual production capacity by 2 745 000 tonnes and the number of personnel by about 4 350. The divested mills are at Biron, Duluth, Kimberly, Niagara, Stevens Point, Whiting and Wisconsin Rapids in the USA and Port Hawkesbury in Canada.


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