From Staff Reports

CHARLOTTE — The Lake Forest, Ill.-based owner of the shuttered Canton, N.C.,  paper mill is merging with another company, but it is unclear what impact the sale will have on the 187-acre mill site.

Charlotte-based Novolex is paying $18 per share — or $6.7 billion — in an all-cash transaction to purchase Pactiv Evergreen, including the Canton mill, according to a press release. Novolex is a food and beverage packaging company.

 Pactiv Evergreen, which purchased the Canton mill in 2020, closed it with a final bell on May 24, 2023 after providing thousands of jobs in the area for 115 years. (A farewell ceremony was held at the mill on June 8.)

No plans — if any -— were announced for the Canton mill property by Novolex.

What’s more, Pactiv remains locked in a legal dispute with Spirtas for failing to complete a purchase agreement. Upon its purchase, Spirtas had announced plans to demolish the paper mill and redevelop the site.

The closing date for Spirtas to buy the Canton plant was supposed to be Oct. 1, but that all changed when Tropical Storm Helene wreaked havoc in Canton and throughout Western North Carolina. 

Pactiv said that Spirtas backed out on the sale, saying in a lawsuit that Two Banks “decided to exploit the weather tragedy as a new excuse for their anticipatory breach.”

Spirtas owner Eric Spirtas formed the Two Banks Corporation to buy the mill and the case is currently in a Delaware court. 

 Meanwhile, the transaction price paid by Novolex includes Pactiv’s net debt as of Sept. 30. 

“This transaction reflects the continuation of our long-term growth strategy to create the industry’s most innovative, sustainable and customer-focused company,” Stan Bikulege, chairman and CEO of Novolex, stated in the release. “Pactiv Evergreen’s strong product portfolio, along with their talented team, will complement and add significant depth to Novolex’s diverse packaging solutions.”