Resolute Acquires Atlas Tissue

Resolute Forest Products Inc., Montreal, Que., Canada, has announced the acquisition of Atlas Paper Holdings, Inc., a manufacturer of at-home and away-from-home tissue products, including recycled and virgin paper grades. 

 

"This is a step-change acquisition that provides us with an immediate position in the multi-billion-dollar North American consumer tissue market," said Richard Garneau, president and CEO of Resolute Forest Products. "We're following through on our strategy toward the Resolute of the future with an acquisition that capitalizes on our unique ability to capture synergies by integrating forward our U.S. market pulp assets. This acquisition also gives us immediate tissue industry experience as we work toward bringing our Calhoun tissue project online by early 2017." 

Based in Florida, Atlas Paper manufactures branded and private label tissue products for the at-home and away-from-home markets. It offers both virgin and recycled products, covering economy, value and premium grades. Atlas Paper operates three tissue machines, with an annual production capacity of approximately 65,000 tons, 14 converting lines in Hialeah (Miami) and Sanford (Orlando), and a paper recycling facility in Tampa. Atlas Paper employs about 360 people. It will be "business as usual" at Atlas Paper in terms of relationships and commitments to suppliers and customers. 

 

 

Resolute is uniquely positioned to generate synergies and related benefits with this acquisition, by:

•  Optimizing Atlas Paper's pulp supply using Resolute's strong U.S. market pulp network 
• Capitalizing on excess tissue converting capacity 
• Immediately integrating Atlas Paper's tissue expertise for the start-up of the Calhoun tissue project in Tennessee 
• Offering a greater range of products—economy, value, and premium grades—to existing and future customers.

Garneau added that "this transaction fits nicely with our June announcement to build state-of-the-art tissue and converting facilities in Calhoun that will produce approximately 66,000 tons (60,000 metric tons) per year of at-home, premium bath tissue and towel focused on the private label market. By integrating our U.S. pulp assets to produce high-quality products, we will compete in that market as one of only a few integrated producers, using the latest technology. With today's announcement, we enter the tissue market right away, and we do so by way of an acquisition that is synergistic and also integrative. We will benefit from the know-how and the expertise of Atlas Paper's experienced tissue manufacturing, sales and management teams, and we will have access to its customer base." 

 

Jim Brown, president and CEO of Atlas Paper Holdings, noted that "we are excited about becoming part of a larger, diversified company that views the tissue market as a cornerstone of its future. This is a win-win: For Atlas Paper, we will benefit from pulp supply efficiencies and we will offer a wider range of products to our customers once the Calhoun tissue project is up and running. For Resolute, my team can bring the market knowledge and expertise that will help us all meet our common business objectives."

The purchase price in the transaction, which closed today, was $156 million, including working capital. The company estimates approximately $23 million of annualized earnings before interest expense, income taxes, and depreciation and amortization, or "EBITDA," including synergies, starting in the first quarter of 2016. Resolute expects to maintain Atlas Paper's current structure, and that most employees, including management, will remain with the organization. 

The financial results attributable to these assets will be reported in a stand-alone "tissue" segment. The company paid for Atlas Paper with available cash, but expects to explore financing opportunities in the coming months, considering its previously-reported significant capital expenditure expectations in connection with the Calhoun tissue project.

Resolute Forest Products produces a diverse range of products, including newsprint, specialty papers, market pulp, and wood products. The company owns or operates some 40 pulp and paper mills and wood products facilities in the U.S., Canada, and South Korea, and power generation assets in Canada. Marketing its products in close to 80 countries, Resolute has third-party certified 100% of its managed woodlands to at least one of three internationally recognized sustainable forest management standards.