The Yellow Sheet
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The Source for News and Pricing Volume 87, Number 3 January 15, 2011
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SALE COULD BE DIFFICULT
Is Longview Fibre on the Block?
Brookfield Asset Management has put linerboard and box maker Longview Fibre (LF) on the block, hiring Bank of America Corp. to run the sales process,
reports Reuters, citing three anonymous
sources familiar with the situation.
The Longview, Wash., manufacturer
has yearly earnings of around $114 million,
Brookfield said in September.
One of the sources said the business was
worth in the range of $500 million to $700
million. The sources asked for anonymity
because they were not authorized to speak
publicly about the sale.
The sources also said possible bidders
Sources said possible bidders could
include International Paper Co.,
Temple-Inland or Rock Tenn Co.
Canadian Box
Maker Seeks N.Y.
Tax Abatement
could include International Paper Co., Temple-Inland or Rock Tenn Co.
Property, power and infrastructure investor Brookfield bought LF, primarily for the
timberlands the company owned, in 2007
for $2.15 billion, including assumed debt.
Brookfield has since split the timberland
assets off from the paper manufacturing
business it’s looking to sell.
Brookfield and Bank of America declined
to comment. But at an investor meeting last
Continued on page 4
Transacted Containerboard Prices
Average transacted price levels are tabulated by obtaining paid prices from independent converters purchasing linerboard and medium. All prices are intended as a reference standard only. Transactions may
be concluded at any time at any price agreed upon by seller and purchaser. These are delivered prices for
week ended previous Tuesday. Price ranges listed are per short ton.
Northeast 42#Fourd.KraftLinerboard $580–590 $590–600 $590–600 $600–610 $605–615
Kraft Linerboard Upcharges (Nationwide):
26#: $50/ton 33#: $30/ton
31#: HP* $30/ton 35# HP: $25/ton 57# HP: $20/ton
Recycled:
35#: HP Recycled: $30/ton
East Central Southeast/
South Central
North
Central
West
26# .009 Semichemical $515–525 $520–530 $540-550 $530-540 $560-570 Medium
Semichemical Medium Upcharges (Nationwide):
23# SM:** $20/ton 33# HP: $25/ton 40# SM: $10/ton
*HP: High Performance **SM: Semichemical Medium
A Hamilton, Ontario, corrugated
box manufacturer has selected
a Lewiston, N. Y., location for
its first U.S. operation, reports
Buffalo Business First.
The Niagara County Industrial Development Agency (IDA)
received an application for a
15-year property tax break last
week from HT Productions, a new
company formed by Whitebird.
It plans to acquire a 50,000-
sq-ft former winery and convert
it into a box plant. Whitebird and
National Corrugate, a sister company, are located in a 120,000-
sq-ft plant in Hamilton.
“We want to move all our pro-
duction here and use Hamilton
just for warehousing,” says Henry
Heikoop, company president.
Heikoop says the corrugat-
ed box business is slumping in
Canada but that his company
is bucking the trend.
Tax abatements are illegal
in Canada.
“This will give us a chance
to grow while everyone else is
shrinking,” says Heikoop, whose
application promises 14 new
jobs within two years.
The application lists the cost
of acquiring the building and five-acre lot as $310,000, part of a
total investment of $910,000.
The IDA will hold a public hearing on HT Productions’ 15-year
payment-in-lieu-of-taxes deal on
Feb. 7.
3.9%
Green Packaging Requests Won’t Abate
Demand for green packaging is projected
to increase 3. 9 percent to $41.7 billion
by 2014…p. 4
Plans for Former IP
Board Mill Withdrawn
p. 4
INSIDE:
What’s New for
Box Makers?
p. 5
Why You Should Avoid
Price-Shoppers
p. 6
