Wausau Paper today announced that it has signed a
definitive agreement to sell its specialty paper business to a new company
sponsored by KPS Capital Partners L.P. a New York-based private equity
firm with significant experience in the paper industry. The new company will be
known as Expera Specialty Solutions, LLC. KPS, as previously announced, has also entered into a
definitive agreement to acquire the specialty paper business of Packaging
Dynamics Corporation (“Thilmany”), which operates paper mills in De Pere and
Kaukauna, Wisconsin. Expera will combine the Thilmany business with Wausau
Paper’s specialty paper business to create a leading North American
manufacturer of specialty paper products for the food packaging, industrial,
and pressure-sensitive release liner segments. A collective bargaining agreement covering employees at the
Mosinee, Rhinelander, and Kaukauna facilities has been negotiated and ratified.
The collective bargaining agreement and the Thilmany acquisition agreement were
both conditions to Wausau Paper entering into its agreement with KPS.
