Clearwater Paper Sells Specialty Products Business and Mills to Dunn Paper
SPOKANE, WA—December 31, 2014—Clearwater Paper has announced the sale of its specialty products business and mills to Dunn Paper. Clearwater Paper intends to reinvest the net proceeds of the sale into capital projects within its Consumer Products Division.
The transaction, which closed yesterday, includes the sale of five Clearwater Paper subsidiaries with facilities located at East Hartford, CT, Menominee, MI, Gouverneur (Natural Dam), NY, St. Catharines, ON, and Wiggins, MS.
"The sale of the specialty products business sharpens our Consumer Products Division’s focus on the core retail business,” said Linda Massman, president and CEO. “It’s about improving our approach and efficiencies in all parts of our business while meeting or surpassing our customers’ expectations, and our Company financial goals. We believe that the capital projects in which we will invest the proceeds of this sale can yield a 300 to 400 basis point improvement in the Consumer Product Division’s EBITDA margins over the next three years.”
“On behalf of Clearwater Paper, we sincerely thank the specialty products team for their hard work and commitment to providing our customers with high-quality products and services,” said Massman.
Effective today, 470 specialty products employees are now employees of Dunn Paper.
"We are very pleased to welcome the exceptional people who lead and work at these specialty mills to the Dunn Paper team,” said Brent Earnshaw, CEO of Dunn Paper. “Combining the unique assets, capabilities and products of these mills with Dunn Paper’s Port Huron mill will lead to a specialty paper company with unmatched product offerings for our diverse customer base.”
FBR Capital Markets & Co., led by Matthew Spain, advised Clearwater Paper on the sale of the specialty products business. Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP acted as legal advisor to Clearwater Paper.
About Clearwater Paper
Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) manufactures quality consumer tissue, away-from-home tissue, hard roll tissue, bleached paperboard and pulp at manufacturing facilities across the nation. The Company is a premier supplier of private label tissue to major retailers and wholesale distributors, including grocery, drug, mass merchants and discount stores. In addition, the company produces bleached paperboard used by quality-conscious printers and packaging converters. Clearwater Paper's employees build shareholder value by developing strong customer partnerships through quality and service.
About Dunn Paper
Dunn Paper is a leading specialty paper manufacturer with customers worldwide. Dunn Paper produces a wide array of specialty waxed, coated and uncoated machine-glazed papers used in various food packaging and specialty label applications. Dunn Paper is located in Port Huron, MI, approximately 60 miles north of Detroit.
Source: Clearwater Paper.
