Paper Outlook — Cutting the Bottom Line

Internal forces still continue to reshape the North American paper industry despite years of restructuring. In the latest major deal, International Paper (IP) agreed to sell its coated and supercalendered papers business to CMP Holdings, an affiliate of Apollo Management L.P., for approximately $1.4 billion. This business unit operates four paper mills—in Jay, ME; Bucksport, ME; Quinnesec, MI; and Sartell, MN—and generated $1.6 billion in sales in 2005.