Business News
MWV Agrees to Sell Global Media and Entertainment Business to Atlas Holdings LLC
Monday 06. September 2010 - MeadWestvaco Corporation (NYSE: MWV) today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its global media and entertainment packaging business to Atlas Holdings LLC, which owns a family of companies that span multiple industries including consumer packaging, steel, pulp and paper, for $68 million in cash, subject to certain closing conditions. Completion of the transaction is expected September 30, 2010.
The media business specializes in innovative packaging for DVDs, music and video games and has approximately 1,450 employees. Included in the sale is the global network of media packaging businesses that operate under the names AGI Media, AGI Amaray and AGI Polymatrix. Principal operations are in the United States, United Kingdom, Austria, France, Ireland, Germany, Poland, The Netherlands and Australia.
“This transaction allows us to further sharpen our focus on the growing global consumer packaging markets we have selected and dedicate our resources to ensure we are leveraging our capabilities in these key markets,” said John A. Luke, Jr., MWV chairman and chief executive officer. “The media and entertainment business team has achieved great success in this market and continues to be at the forefront of innovative packaging for music, movies and video games. We are confident that under Atlas ownership, the media and entertainment business will continue to have a market-leading position in this sector.”
Timothy Fazio, managing partner of Atlas Holdings, said, “We are excited about acquiring AGI and welcoming its employees into the Atlas family. The acquisition is very consistent with our investment strategy – the packaging market is a sector we have operated in for more than a decade, AGI is critical to the markets it serves and we have experience transitioning divisions of large companies into viable stand-alone companies.” He added, “After the closing of the transaction, the business will be well capitalized and positioned for success going forward.”
The transaction will result in a pre-tax loss for MWV of about $125 million. The net loss on the transaction and the results of the global media and entertainment business is expected to be reported in the third quarter of 2010 as a discontinued operation.