Swift Consolidation Sweeps Paper Industry

Finnish company UPM-Kymmene said that when it completes its purchase of Champion, it will set up a new group, which will take the Champion International name and give the group paper production capacity of 12.1 million tons a year.

International Paper’s proposed purchase of Shorewood comes on the heels of Shorewood’s successful rejection of a hostile takeover bid by Chesapeake Corp. International Paper will make a cash tender offer of $21 per share; Shorewood shares jumped to just over $20 when the announcement was made. IP will also assume approximately $275 million of Shorewood’s outstanding debt producer.