April 19, 2024

DealBook: International Paper Wins Temple-Inland

A production plant for the forest products company Temple-Inland, a maker of corrugated packaging.Temple-Inland, via Bloomberg NewsA production plant for the forest products company Temple-Inland, a maker of corrugated packaging.

International Paper said on Tuesday that it had reached an agreement to acquire Temple-Inland, a maker of corrugated packaging, after increasing its offer to $3.7 billion.

The deal comes after several months in which the companies threatened a prolonged takeover battle.

International Paper said it would pay $32 a share in cash for Temple-Inland. It will also assume $600 million of Temple-Inland’s debt, valuing the transaction at $4.3 billion

The offer that clinched the deal is nearly 5 percent higher than International Paper’s unsolicited bid of $30.60 in cash that was announced on June 6. At the time, Temple-Inland said the offer “grossly undervalues” the company.

Soon after that offer was announced, Temple-Inland adopted a shareholder rights plan intended to thwart International Paper. In July, International Paper took its bid directly to Temple-Inland’s shareholders. Its offer was due to expire on Thursday.

The companies said the merger would yield cost savings of $300 million a year within the first two years. The two companies “have a shared focus on low-cost mills, complementary converting systems and high levels of box integration,” they said in a statement.

International Paper has said that it has committed financing from one of its financial advisers, UBS. It is also receiving advice from Evercore Partners and the law firm Debevoise Plimpton.

Temple-Inland is being advised by Goldman Sachs and the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen Katz.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=fb115d85772beaeb69dd9d57bbaeaf33