NewPage Strikes Deal for Stora Enso NA

MIAMISBURG, OH—It’s been a good year for NewPage.

After knocking several Asian coated free sheet sources down a peg via countervailing duties imposed by the Commerce Department this past summer, the former MeadWestvaco set it sights on acquiring a company that had its own issues with paper pricing.

Last Friday, NewPage announced it had signed a definitive agreement in which its parent company, NewPage Holding, will acquire Stora Enso’s paper manufacturing operations in North America. The deal is for a cool $1.5 billion in cash, a $200 million note, and a 19.9 percent equity interest in the new company.

The acquisition is expected to close during the first quarter of 2008. It is expected to generate about $265 million in annualized cost savings.

Earlier this year, Stora Enso Oyj was acquitted of charges in the United States that it participated in a paper price-fixing conspiracy.