The Illinois-based food packaging and food service manufacturer that owns the former paper mill in Canton is being acquired by a Charlotte-based food packaging company in a purchase worth billions, the companies announced Dec. 9.
Pactiv Evergreen will “combine” with Novolex, the Charlotte-based company that bought the company in an all-cash transaction valued at $6.7 billion, the Dec. 9 news release announced. All Pactiv Evergreen shares will be purchased at $18, and the sale is still subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals. The sale is expected to close in mid-2025, according to the release.
“We are pleased to reach this agreement with Novolex, which shares our commitment to product quality and recognizes our potential for future growth. The Board and leadership team evaluated a range of opportunities and are confident this transaction maximizes shareholder value and is the best path forward for all stakeholders,” said Michael King, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pactiv Evergreen in the news release.
Novolex has 10,000 employees and manages 56 manufacturing facilities in North America and Europe, including two plastic film recycling centers. The acquisition comes as the Western North Carolina mill site is already in the process of being sold amid environmental concerns and lawsuits over Pactiv Evergreen’s management of the site, but it is unclear how the sale will impact the Canton mill.
In Canton, Blue Ridge Paper Products had operated the mill since 1999 and merged into Evergreen Packaging and then merged again into Pactiv Evergreen in 2020. In May 2023, the mill sounded its last bell as more than 1,200 regional workers were laid off and the mill ceased operations, marking the beginning of what some Western North Carolina leaders called a “regional crisis” from the resulting loss of jobs.
Since then, the former paper mill has been mired in a lawsuit filed by the North Carolina Attorney General’s office amid ongoing conversations about the future of environmental remediation at the site.
Since the Sept. 27, when Tropical Storm Helene rocked WNC, the sale of the mill has been the subject of a lawsuit between Pactiv Evergreen and an interested purchaser, E.J. Spirtas Group, as Pactiv filed the lawsuit to in an attempt to force the sale.
The sale was due to close on Oct. 1, but the Spirtas Group and its subsidiary Two Banks Development expressed concerns over the property and sale after the damage caused by Helene, according to the lawsuit filed by Pactiv Evergreen in October. The lawsuit, filed in Delaware’s Court of Chancery, alleged Spirtas Group “decided to exploit the weather tragedy” during the sale.
Despite the suit, the Spirtas Group is still looking to complete the sale, Eric Spirtas, the owner and CEO of E.J. Spirtas Group, told the Citizen Times Dec. 10.
His company is still “trying to close on the property,” but Pactiv Evergreen has not allowed the company’s underwriters to visit the site for damages since Helene, Spirtas said. He said they would need the proceeds of Pactiv Evergreen’s insurance to repair the site.
“We’re ready to close. We’re willing to close,” Spirtas said.
Spritas said his future plans for the site, if and when the purchase goes through, include greenways and major flood mitigation infrastructure. He also emphasized that he wants to work with “people that are going to reach long and harder to make the town a benefactor” from the redevelopment of the site.
The E.J. Spritas Group performs industrial demolition, environmental remediation, redevelopment and other services around the world, according to its website. Projects include the Choren Biomass Gasification Refinery in Freiberg, Germany, and the Wausau paper mill in Brokaw, Wisconsin.
Spokespeople from Novolex and Pactiv Evergreen did not immediately respond to request for comment.
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Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com. Consider supporting this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Pactiv Evergreen bought by Novolex for $6.7 billion; Canton mill sale update
