Paper maker upbeat about deal

DAYTON (AP) — A privately owned company that supplies paper to magazine and catalog publishers is buying the North American operations of one of the world’s largest makers of paper products for about $2.1 billion.

NewPage Holding Corp., owned by private equity firm Cerberus Capital, hopes the deal announced Friday will give it a boost in the shrinking U.S. paper industry, which has been hurt by Chinese imports and increasing use of the Internet.

NewPage is acquiring eight factories from Finland-based Stora Enso Oyj and will combine those plants with its North American coated paper operations. NewPage and the Stora Enso operations being acquired each employ more than 4,300 people.

Stora Enso said the North American plants make a wide variety of products including paper for magazine and catalog publishers, retailers and commercial printers.

The transaction includes $1.5 billion in cash, a 20 percent equity stake valued at $370 million in the combined operation and $200 million in vendor notes, Stora Enso said.

NewPage, based in Dayton, also is assuming about $450 million in debt in the deal, expected to be completed in the first quarter.