Clearwater Paper announces completion of the sale of its tissue business to Italian company

Clearwater Paper announced in a news release Friday the "successful completion" of the sale of its tissue business to Sofidel America Corp. for $1.06 billion.

The transaction includes Clearwater Paper’s tissue operations in Lewiston, Las Vegas, Shelby, N.C., and Elwood, Ill., near Chicago, according to a previous news release about the agreement from Sofidel.

Sofidel America Corp. is a subsidiary of Sofidel S.p.A., which is headquartered in Lucca, Italy.

Clearwater Paper employs about 1,300 people in Lewiston where it has its largest manufacturing complex, the only place where it makes pulp, tissue and paperboard.

About 500 of Clearwater Paper’s Lewiston employees work in the part of the operation that is part of the acquisition, Matt Van Vleet, a spokesperson for Clearwater Paper, told the Tribune when the sale to Sofidel was first announced in July.

The pulp operations in Lewiston are not part of what is being sold to Sofidel, which will buy pulp for Lewiston, Van Vleet said.

“This is the next big step in transforming Clearwater into a premier independent paperboard packaging supplier in North America,” said Arsen Kitch, president and chief executive officer of Clearwater Paper, in the Friday news release. “While it’s the right business decision, it’s a bittersweet moment for our company. We are parting ways with valued colleagues, and that’s difficult. The Tissue team has built a fantastic business and delivered strong results. I am proud of their work and wish them well.

“We’ll use the proceeds from the sale to pay down debt and strengthen our balance sheet. We will be well positioned to scale and diversify our paperboard business to create long-term value for our shareholders,” Kitch said.