Artic Increases Coated & Uncoated Paper Prices

http://www.paperage.com/2012news/02_16_2012arctic_paper_price.html

Arctic Paper said that it will increase pricing on all of its Uncoated Woodfree and Coated Woodfree paper grades, both in sheets and reels, by 5-6%.

The price increase will be implemented for all markets and deliveries effective March 15, 2012.

Arctic Paper has four paper mills in Europe with a total capacity of is 825,000 metric tonnes of paper per year.

Update on Fibrek / Resolute Fight

Fibrek fighting for the rights of its shareholders to accept Mercer’s superior offer:
Fibrek Inc. announced today that a hearing before the Bureau de décision et de révision (Québec), the administrative tribunal with statutory jurisdiction in securities law and regulatory matters in the Province of Québec, will be held on February 17 and 20, 2012 to consider the application filed by AbitibiBowater Inc. (doing business as Resolute Forest Products) for an order to cease trade the superior offer proposed by Mercer International Inc. to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Fibrek and the private placement of 32,320,000 special warrants to Mercer for gross proceeds of $32,320,000.

Valassis Reports Q4 and 2011 Results

Valassis Reports Revenue Declines for Fourth Quarter, Full Year:
Fourth-quarter 2011 revenues were $595.3 million, a decrease of 5.7% from the prior-year quarter. Full-year 2011 revenues were $2.24 billion, a decrease of 4.2% from full-year 2010.

Larger Format for Spin Magazine

http://www.adweek.com/print/138326

As alternative music magazine Spin figures out how to be a music magazine for the digital future, it's taking a page from the past.

On Feb. 28, the March/April issue will hit newsstands, now bimonthly considerably larger and heavier than before, with thicker paper stock and a 9.5” x 12” trim size that will allow more attention to photography and design.

6 B-toB Marketers on 2012 Outlook

http://www.audiencedevelopment.com/2012/b+b+and+consumer+circ+outlook+2012

If the contributions by the following six audience developers are any indication, 2012 is going to be a breakout year for publishers.  Paid print and digital content bundles will be a key focus, as will HTML5 and e-commerce partnerships. In b-to-b, BPA’s new rules for auditing digital distribution could have profound effects on overall circulation growth for that market.

Reed Business Information 2011 Results

Reed Business Information’s Adjusted Operating Profit Spikes in 2011:Reed Elsevier’s U.S. b-to-b content division Reed Business Information [RBI] had a strong 2011. Revenue was down slightly at $1.08 billion, falling three percent from 2010’s $1.12 billion.

F+W Buys The Martha Pullen Company

F+W Buys The Martha Pullen Company: F+W Media has morphed a joint venture with Hoffman Media into a full-on acquisition, buying Hoffman's Martha Pullen Company, which serves the sewing and craft markets. Key to the deal was Martha Pullen's e-commerce and fulfillment operations.

USPS Redesigning Processing Network

USPS Redesigning Mail Processing Network Based on Area Hubs: The Postal Service is looking to reduce the size of its Area Mail Processing (AMP) plant network from around 461 facilities to under 200 over the next few years, and is expected to complete closure reviews in the next two weeks.

USPS to Begin Consoidating Before PRC or Congress Act

http://www.apwu.org/news/webart/2012/12-007-article12meeting-120215.htm

In a meeting with the APWU on Feb. 13, postal officials notified the APWU that they plan to begin consolidating mail processing facilities as soon as the moratorium on consolidations ends. The moratorium is set to expire on May 15..does not intend to await an advisory opinion by the PRC..

nor does the USPS intend to await action by Congress to address the Postal Service’s financial crisis. 

NA Pulp & Paper Industry 2011 Cap Spending Up 46.5%

As reported in a PPI Pulp & Paper Survey of 20 major North American manufacturers, industry capital spending was up $4 billion in 2011 over 2010, an increase of 46.5%. In the U.S., capital spending was up 47.8% (120% 2011/2009) and in Canada it jumped 90.2%. The focus of the spending was on replacing higher-cost capacity, machine conversions, energy cost reductions, quality enhancements and environmental improvements.

Churchill Downs Buys Bluff Media

http://www.foliomag.com/node/38503/print

Bluff Media has been acquired by horse racing and entertainment company Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) for an undisclosed amount.

Active Interest Media & Source Interlink Strike Deal

http://www.foliomag.com/2012/active-interest-media-buys-marine-group-assets-from-source-interlink
Active Interest Media, the enthusiast publisher with titles and events in the healthy living, home buying, marine and outdoor markets, has taken over the marine group from Source Interlink Media in an asset deal.

Consolidated Graphics Reports Quarterly Results

Consolidated Graphics Reports a 5.1 Percent Revenue Decrease:

Revenue for the December quarter was $283.9 million, a $15.2 million or 5.1% decrease compared to the prior year quarter. Adjusted Operating Income for the December 2011 quarter was $20.6 million or 7.2%, compared to $30.2 million or 10.1% of revenue last year. Adjusted Net Income was $12.6 million, compared to Adjusted Net Income of $18.7 million for the prior year quarter.

Resolute Applies to Stop Mercer's Fibrek Offer

http://www.paperage.com/2012news/02_14_2012resolute_cease_trade.html

AbitibiBowater Inc., doing business as Resolute Forest Products,  announced that it applied to the Bureau de decision et de revision (Quebec), the administrative tribunal with statutory jurisdiction in securities law and regulatory matters in Quebec, for an order to cease trade the proposed offer by Mercer International Inc. to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Fibrek Inc. Fibrek and Mercer announced the offer on February 10.

China's 2011 RCP Imports Up 12%, Pulp Jumps 26.2%

China's total recovered paper (RCP) imports increased 18.5% in December as compared to the same month last year. Imports were up 12% for the whole of 2011 as compared to 2010.

Chinese BSK pulp imports increased 10.6% in December as compared to the same month last year and 45.9% for the whole of 2011 over 2010. Total pulp imports were up 23.6% for the month and 26.2% for the year.

NewPage Seeks Changes in DIP Agreement

http://investors.newpagecorp.com/index.php?s=43&item=209

NewPage Corporation ("NewPage") announced today that it is seeking to amend its Amended and Restated Superpriority Debtor-In-Possession Credit and Guaranty Agreement dated as of September 23, 2011 (the "DIP Credit Agreement"; capitalized terms referenced below are defined in the DIP Credit Agreement).  

UPM Adds Sheeter to Mill in China

UPM plans to add a new sheeter that can handle up to 100,000 tonnes/yr of paper at its mill in Changshu city, Jiangsu province. The unit will come online around the end of this year, and is planned to process copy paper, according to a contact from the company. This will allow the mill's cut-size paper capacity to reach around 400,000 tonnes/yr. The site houses two paper units producing some 800,000 tonnes/yr of coated and uncoated fine paper.

H-P Digital Press Strategy

http://online.wsj.com/home-page

Hewlett-Packard Co. Chief Executive Meg Whitman pledged to spend her first year rebuilding the technology company's depleted balance sheet.

To help speed growth and repair its balance sheet, Ms. Whitman is betting big on 72-foot-long digital printing presses, called Web presses, that cost $1 million to $2 million each. The digital presses—targeted at commercial printers that churn out books, direct mail and catalogs—are aimed at replacing the manual offset presses that many printing shops have long used.

Advanstar Names CEO for Fashion Group

http://www.btobonline.com/article/20120214/MEDIABUSINESS06/302149996/advanstar-hires-former-vogue-exec

The business-to-business media company Advanstar hired former Vogue magazine publisher Tom Florio to be chief executive of a newly formed fashion group, where he will be responsible for increasing the company's presence among consumers.

Closely held Advanstar publishes more than 50 trade magazines covering topics such as motor sports and medicine, and also hosts close to 150 trade shows and other events, through its Advanstar Communications subsidiary. Among other responsibilities, Mr. Florio will oversee Magic, the largest apparel trade show in the U.S.

Hearst and Amazon Announce New Plans

  http://www.adweek.com/print/138191

Is it a magazine—or catalogue? Magazines have been increasingly blurring the line between editorial and commerce, lending their names to products and shopping sites. Now, computer tablets and e-readers are making it more tempting to bridge that gap. Now, Hearst Magazines is going all out, with plans in the coming weeks to start making many of its Kindle Fire editions shoppable by linking products to Amazon. Hearst will get a cut of the sales, which it wouldn’t disclose.