Pactiv Evergreen announced that it will exit the coated groundwood paper market. The company will permanently cease production of coated groundwood paper at its Pine Bluff, Arkansas, mill. The move by Pactiv Evergreen will remove 182,000 short tons per year of coated groundwood capacity from the market, representing 12.5% of North American coated groundwood production. Pactiv Evergreen said it will continue to strategically invest in the Pine Bluff mill, which will remain an essential facility in the Pactiv Evergreen operations network, serving the fiber-based beverage packaging market.
Coated paper supply continues to be lacking in North America, with limited availability from both domestic and overseas suppliers. Lead times and availability of products continue to pose a challenge for end-users. Mills are running machines on allocation for delivery dates in September-October and imports are also limited due to high freight costs and a shortage of containers.
Private equity firm Atlas Holdings LLC — which already owns several pulp and paper providers, as well as LSC Communications — made an unsolicited takeover bid on July 11 to buy Miamisburg, Ohio-based Verso Corp. Atlas has offered to acquire publicly-held Verso for $20 per share in cash, putting an enterprise value of the paper manufacturer at approximately $886 million. Greenwich, Conn.-based Atlas Holdings, along with affiliates Lapetus Capital and Blue World Capital Advisors, already controls 9.12% of the voting power of Verso and has been an activist investor since acquiring outstanding shares in the company. Verso acknowledged receipt of the bid and indicated that its board would review and evaluate the proposal. It also noted, "There can be no assurance that any negotiations between Verso and Atlas Holdings LLC regarding this proposal will take place, and if such negotiations do take place, there can be no assurance that any transaction with Atlas Holdings will occur or be consummated.”