Clearwater Paper purchases Georgia paperboard facility

Clearwater Paper Corp. announced this week that it has purchased a Georgia-based paperboard-manufacturing facility for about $700 million.

The Spokane-based tissue and paperboard supplier will take ownership of Graphic Packaging’s bleached paperboard factory in Augusta, Georgia, by the end of June.

“Augusta is a great fit with our strategy and improves our position as a premier, independent paperboard supplier to North American converters,” Clearwater Paper CEO Arsen Kitch said in a news release.

“I look forward to welcoming the Augusta team to Clearwater Paper as we work together to build a more scaled paperboard business to service our customers.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the second quarter of this year.

Graphic Packaging Holding Company is headquartered in Atlanta. The company designs and produces consumer packaging, according to the news release.

“Augusta is an outstanding asset with a great team, which we concluded is a more compelling fit with Clearwater Paper’s strategic growth plans than our own,” Graphic Packaging president and CEO Michael Doss said in the release.

Clearwater Paper has 14 manufacturing locations in the United States, including Clarkston and Lewiston.