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P&M Corporate Finance (PMCF) is pleased to announce a majority sale transaction of French Paper Co. (the “Company”) to Finch Paper, a platform company of Atlas Holdings LLC.
Located in Niles, MI, French Paper is a sixth-generation, family-owned company that manufactures premium custom paper for graphic arts, luxury packaging, writing, text, cover, and specialty applications. French Paper is renowned in the industry for a unique ability to produce custom colors. The Company’s offerings enhance many products, including corporate brochures, pocket folders, advertising inserts, direct mail, business cards, posters, scrapbooks, invitations, personal stationery, labels, and high-end packaging for point-of-purchase advertising.
French Paper is located along the St. Joseph River and since 1922 has sourced its electricity from its own renewable hydroelectric power plant at the Niles dam. The Company also makes the majority of its papers using recycled fibers making it a very environmentally conscious manufacturer. French Paper is also well known in the graphic design industry due largely to its long-standing relationship with CSA Design and the promotional materials it creates.
French Paper, which has been family-owned since it was founded in 1871, will continue to operate separately from Finch Paper. French Paper CEO Jerry French says, “We are excited about combining the many strengths and resources of Finch with our own and creating a business that will provide outstanding service to current and future customers.” Prior to the transaction, French Paper was one of the oldest family owned businesses located in Michigan.
Finch Paper is a premier, vertically integrated paper manufacturer specializing in high-bright, uncoated papers for North American printing and converting markets. Using advanced manufacturing systems, Finch produces a broad portfolio of opaque, text and cover and digital papers for multi-press environments. The Company operates next to the Hudson River in Glens Falls, N.Y., 50 miles north of Albany.
Finch Paper is a platform company of Atlas Holdings LLC, a private equity firm with investments in aluminum processing, automotive, building materials, capital equipment, construction services, food manufacturing and distribution, packaging, paper, power generation, pulp, supply chain management and wood products. Finch Paper President & CEO Deba Mukherjee says, “With this partnership, we are bringing together two outstanding teams,” adding, “Finch and French have similar histories as iconic paper companies. We are each a pillar in the community we call home, a trusted employer and a manufacturing leader.” Together, the two represent 300 years of papermaking excellence.
PMCF served as exclusive investment banker to French Paper. Jerry French commented, “John Hart and his team played a critical role in helping us to evaluate strategic options and guiding the Company through a transaction process that led to a successful transaction with Finch Paper. They were heavily involved throughout each step of the process to make sure that the French family’s needs were met with this transaction.”
PMCF is a leading middle market investment bank providing M&A advisory services to privately-held, public, and private equity owned companies. PMCF’s service offering includes sale advisory, merger and acquisition advisory, capital raising, and strategic advisory (including sale planning). The firm has significant industry expertise and dedicated professionals focused on plastics and packaging, medical technology, industrials, and business services industries. PMCF has offices in Chicago, Detroit, and Denver and internationally through its CFI partner firms. PMCF is also an affiliate of Plante Moran, one of the nation’s largest professional services firms. For more information, visit www.pmcf.com or you can contact John Hart directly at john.hart@pmcf.com or +1 248.223.3468.
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