Bemis Company, Inc. (NYSE:BMS) today announced that it has completed the sale of its discontinued operations, including its Menasha, Wisconsin, and Catoosa (Tulsa), Oklahoma facilities, to Exopack Holding Corp. ("Exopack"), an affiliate of private investment firm Sun Capital Partners, Inc.
The transaction was completed for a cash purchase price of approximately $82 million. The divested business recorded 2009 net sales of approximately $156 million and manufactures flexible packaging for retail natural cheese and shrink bags for fresh red meat. Bemis intends to use the cash proceeds from the sale to reduce commercial paper debt outstanding.
Bemis has divested these assets in accordance with the terms of a consent decree agreed to with the U.S. Department of Justice, which was filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on February 25, 2010, in order to obtain regulatory approval for its acquisition of Alcan Packaging Food Americas.
These assets have been classified as discontinued operations in Bemis' financial statements since the acquisition was completed on March 1, 2010.