Above: Domtar Kingsport Mill Manager Troy Wilson. Photo by Earl Neikirk
The sale of Domtar to British Columbia-based Paper Excellence will not affect plans to refit the Kingsport Domtar facility, according to Mill Manager Troy Wilson. “The scope of our mill conversion project remains unchanged and on schedule – we are going to walk into the office tomorrow, same as we did today, and continue our work to build a world-class packaging operation right here in Kingsport,” Wilson told bjournal.com after a joint press release from Paper Excellence and Domtar announced the $3 billion deal Tuesday morning. “This transaction will benefit our employees and the Tri-Cities region by delivering added stability and reinforcing our long-term commitment to growth.”
According to the release, Paper Excellence will acquire all issued and outstanding shares of Domtar stock for $55.50 per share in an all-cash transaction.
Per the release, “After the transaction closes, Paper Excellence intends to continue the operations of Domtar as a stand-alone business entity. As such, Domtar will continue to be led by its management team and Paper Excellence plans to retain its corporate and production locations.”
Domtar CEO John D. Williams was quoted in the release as saying, “This transaction validates our long-term strategic plan for our leading paper and pulp businesses, and for our continued expansion into packaging.” The Kingsport mill is being repurposed from printer paper production to packaging materials production.
