CLOVERDALE, CALIFORNIA, May 2, 2013-

Georgia-Pacific LLC will acquire Buckeye Technologies Inc. in a $1.5 billion deal aimed mainly at creating marketing and technological opportunities for G-P's huge pulp business. Almost as an afterthought, the deal puts together two of the world's bigger airlaid nonwovens manufacturers, to create the largest global airlaid maker. The resulting nonwovens business will operate plants in the United States and Germany capable of making both multibonded airlaid (MBAL) and latex-bonded airlaid (LBAL) for wipes, feminine hygiene and tabletop, among other markets.

In announcing the friendly takeover on April 24, the two companies said G-P will acquire all the outstanding shares of Buckeye common stock for $37.50 per share, estimated by the firms as a 29% premium over the average closing price of the stock over the previous week. This results in a total deal value of $1.5 billion including debt. Nonwovens Markets sister publication PPI Pulp & Paper Week quoted a G-P official as saying that the deal, which has been unanimously approved by both companies' boards, should close "sometime later this year".

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