Sofidel completes purchase of Clearwater Paper tissue business

Sofidel America Corp., a subsidiary of Italian paper company Sofidel S.p.A., has finalized the purchase of Clearwater Paper Corp.’s tissue business in a deal worth $1.06 billion—the largest transaction in the company’s history.

The deal first was announced in July and Sofidel reports that all regulatory approvals have been obtained.

“This transaction makes Sofidel the fourth-largest tissue paper manufacturer in North America and strengthens its leadership in the private label sector, a market that is growing further,” Sofidel CEO Luigi Lazzareschi says. “A step that brings the goal of having equivalent revenues on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean much closer. A crucial acquisition for the future of Sofidel as a whole.”

Sofidel will acquire four Clearwater Paper production sites: Shelby, North Carolina; Lewiston, Idaho; Elwood, Illinois; and Las Vegas, as well as integrate about 1,700 employees into its network.

Clearwater Paper used nearly 13 percent preconsumer recovered paper in its tissue products in 2022, according to its “2023 Sustainability Report,” and nearly 6 percent preconsumer recovered paper in its paperboard products.

The addition of the four tissue production facilities increases Sofidel’s annual production capacity by 25 percent, or 340,000 metric tons. It also expands the company’s commercial offerings, as two of the six paper machines acquired are through-air-drying (TAD) machines, and, Sofidel says, optimizes its geographic coverage.

“Today marks the completion of the largest acquisition in our group’s history, a goal we have envisioned for years,” Sofidel Chair Edilio Stefani says. “We can proudly say that we were ready to seize the opportunity when it arose.”

Meanwhile, Sofidel says it is pursuing other consolidation and development plans in the North American market, most notably at its paper mill in Circleville, Ohio, where it is working on increasing capacity by 50 percent, and its mill in Duluth, Minnesota, which is being equipped with converting lines and a new automated warehouse.

The company announced in September 2023 plans to invest $185 million into its Circleville site with the intention of boosting capacity to 200,000 metric tons per year, becoming Sofidel’s largest production site worldwide. The mill produces mostly virgin tissue products but does use some production scrap as feedstock.

In January, Sofidel acquired its Duluth tissue mill from Oconto Falls, Wisconsin-based ST Paper. The facility has a production capacity of 65,000 metric tons per year.