International Paper of Memphis said Thursday that it has agreed to sell five wood products mills, including a mill at Gurdon, to Georgia-Pacific for about $237 million.
Other facilities included in the sale are plywood and lumber complexes in Camden, Texas, and Springhill, La.; a plywood mill in Corrigan, Texas; and an engineered wood products mill in Thorsby, Ala. The mills employ about 2,400 people.
The sales are expected to close in the first half of 2007, IP said.
“This agreement substantially completes the sale of our wood products business, part of our transformation plan to become a more focused, more profitable company,” John Faraci, IP’s chairman and chief executive, said in a news release. “We now have sale agreements in place for each of the businesses we planned to divest as part of the transformation plan, and expect to complete the transactions early in 2007.”
The agreement is part of International Paper’s previously announced transformation plan to focus on uncoated papers and packaging. Proceeds from divestitures announced to date, including this agreement, total about $11 billion.
On Tuesday, IP announced that it had signed agreements to sell its beverage packaging business, which includes a Pine Bluff paper mill, and its Arizona Chemical businesses for about $985 million.
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