International Paper recently announced that it has completed the transfer of its North American consumer packaging business to Graphic Packaging. The transferred business includes approximately 3,900 employees, two coated paperboard mills and three converting facilities in the United States along with one converting facility in the United Kingdom.
As a result of the transaction, Graphic Packaging assumes $660 million of International Paper debt. Graphic Packaging will own 79.5 percent of the combined company and will be the sole manager. There will also be no change to Graphic Packaging's current board of directors or leadership team.
"We are excited to close this transformative transaction at the start of the new year, and the timing reflects the significant effort of both Graphic Packaging and International Paper employees," said Michael Doss, president and CEO of Graphic Packaging. "We are very enthusiastic about the platform for future growth created by this combination and expect the transaction will significantly increase our mill production and converting scale. The combination meaningfully increases our exposure to the growing food-service market, provides significant runway to realize synergies and will drive strong financial results."
An integrated paper-based packaging company, Graphic Packaging has strategic folding carton and food-service converting positions globally, with approximately $6 billion in projected revenue.
For more information, visit www.graphicpkg.com.
