Koch Industries Finalizes $21 Billion Purchase of Georgia-Pacific
23 Dezembro 2005 - 11:56AM
PR Newswire (US)
ATLANTA and WICHITA, Kan., Dec. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Koch
Industries, Inc. today announced the successful completion of its
$21 billion acquisition of Georgia-Pacific Corp. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030425/PAPLOGO) The deal was
finalized today through the merger of Koch's wholly owned
subsidiary, Koch Forest Products, Inc., with and into
Georgia-Pacific. Georgia-Pacific will retain its name and operate
from its Atlanta headquarters as a privately held, indirect wholly
owned subsidiary of Koch Industries. "Georgia-Pacific is a highly
respected company with great businesses and a strong history as a
market leader," said Charles G. Koch, chairman and chief executive
officer of Koch Industries. "We believe that as a wholly owned Koch
subsidiary, Georgia-Pacific can be even more successful by
combining the capabilities of our two companies. As a private
company, we have the flexibility and resources to pursue strategies
and opportunities that we couldn't as a public company. Beyond
viewing Georgia-Pacific as a high-quality investment, we view it as
a whole new set of platforms for growth." As announced yesterday by
Koch, Joseph W. Moeller becomes Georgia- Pacific's president and
chief executive officer, and Bill Caffey begins his role as
executive vice president, operations excellence and compliance.
A.D. "Pete" Correll, formerly chairman and chief executive officer,
will continue with Georgia-Pacific as chairman of the board, to
assist in the transition. "Koch Industries' purchase shows
appreciation for the full value of our company," said Correll. "As
we begin this new era, we look forward to blending
Georgia-Pacific's strengths with Koch's management approach and
operations expertise. Our new ownership structure will help ensure
we can focus on those changes, investments and actions that will
best drive excellence and long-term success and growth." Koch
acquired Georgia-Pacific's common stock through a cash tender offer
that closed Monday and obtained necessary financing, with Citibank
as the lead financial institution. As a result of the merger, any
outstanding shares of Georgia-Pacific not validly tendered in the
tender offer have been cancelled and converted into the right to
receive $48 per share in cash, without interest, (the same per
share consideration paid in the tender offer). Mellon Investor
Services, the depositary for the transaction, will mail to
non-tendering shareholders materials to be used to surrender share
certificates for the merger consideration. As a result of the
merger, Georgia-Pacific shares will be delisted from the New York
Stock Exchange and cease trading at the close of business today.
Koch Industries, Inc., based in Wichita, Kan.,
(http://www.kochind.com/) owns a diverse group of companies engaged
in trading, operations and investments worldwide, including a
presence in 50 countries in such core industries as trading,
petroleum, chemicals, energy, fibers, resins, fertilizers, pulp and
paper, ranching, securities and finance. Headquartered at Atlanta,
Georgia-Pacific is one of the world's leading manufacturers and
marketers of tissue, packaging, paper, building products and
related chemicals. With 2004 annual sales of approximately $20
billion, the company employs 55,000 people at more than 300
locations in North America and Europe. Its familiar consumer tissue
brands include Quilted Northern(R), Angel Soft(R), Brawny(R),
Sparkle(R), Soft 'n Gentle(R), Mardi Gras(R), So- Dri(R) and Vanity
Fair(R), as well as the Dixie(R) brand of disposable cups, plates
and cutlery. Georgia-Pacific's building products manufacturing
business has long been among the nation's leading suppliers of
building products to lumber and building materials dealers and
large do-it-yourself warehouse retailers. For more information,
visit http://www.gp.com/. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Any
statements made regarding the proposed transaction between Koch
Industries, Inc. and Georgia-Pacific Corporation, the future
performance of Georgia-Pacific as a wholly owned subsidiary of Koch
Industries, and any other statements contained in this news release
that are not purely historical fact are forward-looking statements
that are based on management's beliefs, certain assumptions and
current expectations. These statements may be identified by their
use of forward-looking terminology such as the words "expects,"
"projects," "anticipates," "intends" and other similar words. Such
forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those
projected. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to, general economic, business and market conditions and
the satisfaction of the conditions to closing of the proposed
transaction. For a more complete discussion of certain of the risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from
those contained in the forward-looking statements, please see the
discussion of risks and uncertainties in the Georgia-Pacific 2004
10-K and other SEC filings.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030425/PAPLOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Georgia-Pacific Corp.
CONTACT: Sheila Weidman, +1-404-652-6322, or Robin Keegan,
+1-404-652-4713, both of Georgia-Pacific Corp.; or Mary Beth Jarvis
of Koch Industries, Inc., +1-316-828-3756 Web site:
http://www.gp.com/ http://www.kochind.com/
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