On Dec. 19, North American specialty papers maker Verso Corporation (VRS) announced that Sweden’s BillerudKorsnäs AB will acquire the company for roughly $825 million. Pre-market today, VRS stock soared 32.17% in value.
Transaction Details
According to Verso, BillerudKorsnäs “will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Verso for a purchase price of $27 per share in cash, or approximately $825 million.” The consideration corresponds to a premium of around 35%, compared to Verso's closing price on December 17, 2021. Verso's Board has unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close during the second quarter of 2022.
BillerudKorsnäs' North American Strategy
BillerudKorsnäs plans to create cost-efficient and sustainable paperboard platforms in North America by “converting several of Verso's assets into paperboard machines while maintaining Verso's position as a quality and cost leader in specialty and coated freesheet paper.”
CEO Comments
“With the support of our talented team, Verso has successfully streamlined our operations and reduced costs while strategically investing in projects to enhance our ability to support our customers,” Verso CEO Randy Nebel remarked. “This transaction builds upon our considerable progress and better positions the combined company to invest in our North American manufacturing capability, provide high-quality paper products to customers and accelerate growth.”
VRS has an Overall Score of 61. Find out what this means to you and get the rest of the rankings on VRS!
Verso Corp is a North American producer of printing papers, specialty papers, and pulp. The company produces a wide range of paper products, including coated freesheet, coated groundwood, coated digital, inkjet, supercalendered, and uncoated freesheet. These paper products are used primarily in media and marketing applications, such as catalogs, magazines, advertising brochures, and annual reports. The company also sells kraft pulp, which is used to manufacture tissue products and printing and writing grade paper; however, the group derives the majority of its revenue from its paper products.
