FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS TRANSACTION,
CONTACT:
Gerald M. Caruso, Jr. gcaruso@agio.com T 612 339 0500
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Goldsmith Agio
Helms Announces the Sale of
Fox
Valley Corporation to
Neenah
Paper, Inc.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: March 5,
2007: Goldsmith Agio Helms is pleased to announce
the sale of its client, Fox Valley Corporation
(“Fox Valley” or the “Company”) to Neenah Paper,
Inc. (“Neenah”). Fox Valley, through its subsidiary,
Fox River Paper, is a leading U.S. producer of premium fine papers
based in Appleton, Wisconsin. The Company offers a comprehensive
portfolio of writing, text, and cover products that are used in a
variety of applications, including corporate communications,
greeting cards and invitations, commercial printing, art papers,
luxury packaging, and specialty
applications.
TRANSACTION
HIGHLIGHTS
Both Fox Valley
and Neenah realized that with the declining use of fine
paper, a combination of their respective business units would
serve the long term interests of both companies and their, customers, suppliers, employees,
local communities, and respective shareholders.
Sean Erwin, Neenah’s Chief Executive
Officer and Chairman of the Board, stated, “The purchase of Fox
Valley provides a unique opportunity to strengthen our existing Fine
Paper business with added scale in the marketplace, better prospects
for growth and the ability to offer a broader array of premium
branded products and better service to our customers. We also
expect to be able to create additional value as we optimize our
combined operations and product portfolio.”
Robert Buchanan, Chairman of Fox
Valley commented, “Fox River Paper has been owned by our family
since 1961. During that time, we have built a solid,
profitable business, with a defined niche in the paper
industry. The combination with Neenah Paper offered our family
and all other constituents an opportunity to build a much stronger
fine paper business with solid long-term
fundamentals.”
Jeff Miller, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Fox Valley remarked, “Since Fox River has made
a number of acquisitions over the past 18 years, we are already a
blended group of people committed to this business. We have no
doubt that our experiences will guarantee a bright future for Neenah
Paper. This combination of two recognized market leaders has
significant upside potential and the initial reaction from our
customer base has been extremely enthusiastic.”
Jerry Caruso, a managing director at
Goldsmith Agio Helms who lead the transaction on behalf of Fox
Valley, said, “We were pleased to assist Fox Valley find a
strategic partner that would both ensure the long term strength of
the Company and provide meaningful liquidity to the existing
stockholders.”
THE
COMPANY Fox
Valley Corporation (www.foxriverpaper.com), is
a leading U.S. producer of premium
paper products with well-known brands, including Starwhite®, Sundance®, Esse®, and Oxford®. The
Company's offering of fine papers includes the most comprehensive writing, text
and cover portfolio in the industry. The Company's products are
used in a variety of applications, including corporate communications, greeting cards
and invitations, commercial printing, art papers, luxury packaging, and specialty
applications. Fox River Paper is based in Appleton, Wisconsin and
has manufacturing operations located in Massachusetts, Ohio, Wisconsin, and
California.
Fox River Paper was founded in the
1883 and was a family held business for the past two generations,
after it was acquired by the Buchanan family in 1961. Mead
Westvaco owned 20% of Fox River Paper, which it had acquired when it
merged the Gilbert Paper business with Fox River in
2001.
THE
BUYER Neenah Paper, Inc. (www.neenah.com) manufactures and
distributes a wide range of premium and specialty paper grades, with
well-known brands such as CLASSIC®, ENVIRONMENT®, KIMDURA®, MUNISING
LP®, GESSNER® and varitess®. Neenah Paper is based in Alpharetta,
Georgia, and has manufacturing operations in Wisconsin, Michigan, Nova Scotia,
Canada, and Bruckmühl, Feldkirchen-Westerham and Lahnstein, Germany. Neenah Paper
(NYSE:NP) was spun out of Kimberly
Clark in 2005. Fox Valley is its second significant
acquisition since the spin
out.
ABOUT
GOLDSMITH AGIO
HELMS
Goldsmith Agio
Helms (www.agio.com) is one of the
nation's leading independent investment banking firms
providing sophisticated corporate finance advisory
services to middle-market businesses. The firm's
services include mergers and acquisitions, private placements
of debt and equity, distressed advisory
and restructuring, and financial advisory and opinion services. The
firm operates internationally from its offices in Minneapolis, New
York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and
London.
If you would like more information about this
transaction, contact Jerry Caruso (gcaruso@agio.com) at
612-339-0500.
Minneapolis • 225 S. Sixth
Street • 46thFloor • Minneapolis, MN 55402 •
612 339 0500
New York
• 11 West 42nd Street • 29thFloor • New York, NY 10036 • 212 758
8575
Chicago • 10 South
Wacker Drive • 33rd Floor • Chicago, IL
60606 • 312 928 0760
Los Angeles • 1999
Avenue of the Stars • 12th Floor • Los
Angeles, CA 90067 • 310 551
4111
London • 120 Old Broad
Street • 5thFloor • London, England EC2N 1AR • 44 20
7763 2207
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