Glatfelter to Acquire Concert Industries

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Glatfelter, York, Pa., USA, a producer of specialty papers and engineered paper products, will purchase Concert Industries Corp. from Brookfield Special Situations Management, an affiliate of Brookfield Asset Management (Toronto, Ont., Canada) for C$246.5 million ($235 million). Concert, with two facilities in Gatineau, Que., Canada, and Falkenhagen, Brandenburg, Germany, is a supplier of absorbent cellulose-based airlaid non-woven materials used to manufacture a diverse range of consumer and industrial products for global end-use markets, including feminine hygiene (about 80% of its sales) and adult incontinence products, specialty wipes, and food pads. After closing of the transaction, expected by the end of the first quarter, Glatfelter plans to operate Concert as a third business unit along with Specialty Papers and Composite Fibers. Glatfelter plans to finance the acquisition through a combination of cash on hand and debt.

Concert, which employs about 600 people, recently invested some $70 million to install a new line at its Falkenhagen facility, increasing its annual rated capacity by 18,000 metric tons to a total of 84,000 metric tons. The new line successfully commenced commercial production during the fourth quarter of 2009, and is expected to ramp up significantly in the 2010-2011 period.