Blue Heron Paper Company Acquires Pomona Mill
Oregon City, OR (July 12, 2005) -- Blue Heron Paper Company (“Blue Heron”) has acquired the Pomona, California assets of the former Smurfit Newsprint Corporation of California. The new company will be named Blue Heron Paper Company of California, LLC. The Pomona Mill produces 140,000 metric tons per year of newsprint type grades from 100% recycled paper and is the only operating facility of its kind in the state. “We are delighted to have the opportunity to own such a strategically located asset,” said Mike Siebers, President of Blue Heron. “We know this mill and the customer base well and are planning to make improvements to both product quality and the competitiveness of the operations. We look forward to working with the employees at Pomona on the integration of the two companies.” The mill has 120 employees with approximately 95 of them represented by the United Steel Workers Union local 1979 (formally known as “PACE”). A key part of the transaction was the successful negotiation of a four-year extension to the current labor agreement, which was to expire in March of 2006. The combined companies will have gross annual revenue of $220 million and production capacity of over 360,000 tons. Financing for the acquisition was provided by Wells Fargo Business Credit.
About Blue Heron Paper Company
Blue Heron Paper Company (www.BlueHeronPaper.com) was formed in 2000 and produces newsprint and other specialty paper products from a predominantly recycled fiber base. The Company is majority-owned by KPS Special Situations Fund, L.P., and the employees hold a minority stake through an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan).
About KPS Capital Partners
KPS, through its affiliated management entities, is the manager of the KPS Special Situations Funds, a family of investment funds with approximately $21.8 billion of assets under management (as of June 30, 2024). For over three decades, the Partners of KPS have worked exclusively to realize significant capital appreciation by making controlling equity investments in manufacturing and industrial companies across a diverse array of industries, including basic materials, branded consumer, healthcare and luxury products, automotive parts, capital equipment and general manufacturing. KPS creates value for its investors by working constructively with talented management teams to make businesses better, and generates investment returns by structurally improving the strategic position, competitiveness and profitability of its portfolio companies, rather than primarily relying on financial leverage. The KPS Funds’ portfolio companies generate aggregate annual revenues of approximately $21.6 billion, operate 245 manufacturing facilities in 26 countries, and have approximately 64,000 employees, directly and through joint ventures worldwide (as of June 30, 2024, pro forma for the recent acquisitions of Sport Group and Innomotics which closed on July 8, 2024 and October 1, 2024, respectively). The KPS investment strategy and portfolio companies are described in detail at www.kpsfund.com.
