Fox River Purchases Gilbert Paper

DAYTON, OH—Fox River Paper announced it will acquire Gilbert Paper, located in Menasha, WI, along with selected assets from Mead Corp. The transaction was scheduled to be completed by November 30.

The deal allows Fox River Paper to produce and sell all of the Gilbert Paper products as part of a separate branding strategy. Mead will have a 20 percent interest in the combined company.

The partnership reportedly enables Fox River to become the leading supplier of premium text, cover and writing papers for the U.S. marketplace.

"This is an acquisition that makes sense for Fox River Paper," says Robert C. Buchanan, the company's chairman. "Gilbert Paper's geographic location, the skills of its employees, its existing customer base and its reputation in the marketplace all make it an ideal purchase."

Fox River will market the Gilbert brand separate from its Fox River brand. Gilbert's sales, marketing and customer service functions will continue to operate under the Gilbert Paper name.

Gilbert's paper mill in Menasha, WI, will be shut down by Mead at the time the acquisition is completed. Approximately 100 current Gilbert Paper employees will join Fox River, which announced it is likely that some positions will be eliminated related to the integration of their respective converting operations.

The sale and related mill closure will result in Mead taking a pretax charge of approximately $24 million at the time the transaction is completed.