NewPage To Buy Domtar Coated Groundwood

NewPage Corp. has reached an agreement with Domtar Corp. of Montreal to purchase Domtar's coated groundwood paper product lines and book of business. The purchase follows Domtar's decision to exit this business and close its Columbus, MS, paper mill.

The agreement covers the coated groundwood paper book of business, the Choctaw, Saturn and Jupiter brands, and the coated groundwood product inventory remaining after the Columbus mill closes. The transaction is expected to be completed in April.

Domtar reported that the paper mill has an annual production capacity of 238,000 tons of coated groundwood and 70,000 metric tons of thermo-mechanical pulp. The facility currently has 219 employees. Operations are expected to cease by the end of April 2010.