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The PM40 closed Friday, 3 January 2020, at 3174.

Get the latest PM40 updates by listening to the weekly Nips show and the PM40 Daily Show on Pulp & Paper Radio International.

The PM40 closed 3 January 2020 up 3.6% from the 4 January 2019 level.

In this issue of Disconnected Comparisons, we evaluate RELX Group and Rayonier.

Reported insider trading since the last issue of PaperMoney.

Good question...

Voith is planning on acquiring 90% of the shares in Toscotec S.p.A. Both parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

Voith signed a purchase agreement to take over 70% of shares in electric motor manufacturer ELIN Motoren GmbH.

BillerudKorsnäs is launching Repel Pure, a paper where the grease-resistant barrier is plant-based and totally biological.

Domtar Corporation congratulates three of its board members, Giannella Alvarez, Mary A. Winston and Pamela B. Strobel, on being named to WomenInc. Magazine's list of 2019 Most Influential Corporate Directors.

Layoff notices were handed out to employees at Northern Pulp in preparation for the closure of the company's mill on Jan. 31, 2020.

LSC Communications, Inc. announced that it received notification from the New York Stock Exchange that the NYSE has determined to commence proceedings to delist the Company's common stock from the NYSE and that trading in the Common Stock on the NYSE has been suspended, effective immediately.

Huhtamaki has agreed to acquire full ownership of its joint venture company Laminor S.A. in Brazil. Laminor is specialized in high-quality tube laminates, particularly for oral care applications, and was set up in 2002 as a 50/50 joint venture together with Bemis Company, which is now part of Amcor.

The Lenzing Group and Duratex will build a 500,000 tons dissolving wood pulp plant in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The start-up is planned for the first half of 2022.

Oji Holdings Corporation announces that Oji HD and ISHIZUKA GLASS Co., Ltd. have concluded a basic joint venture agreement on paper container-related business.

Pinnacle Renewable Energy ("Pinnacle") announced the planned construction of a new industrial wood pellet production facility in the southeast United States in close proximity to Pinnacle's Aliceville, Alabama facility.

The state is asking a judge to order Verso Co., owner of the Luke Mill, to put a stop to the pollution and, potentially, to pay civil penalties.

A Delaware judge has temporarily halted arbitration between the DuPont Co. and Chemours as he weighs DuPont's request to dismiss a lawsuit claiming that it massively downplayed the cost environmental liabilities imposed on Chemours.

Sources say that two people were shot and killed near the facility and that a suspect is in custody.

New-Indy Containerboard, a manufacturer and supplier of recycled containerboard for the corrugated box industry, plans to invest $240 million to establish operations at a recently-acquired pulp and paper mill facility in Catawba, South Carolina.

ND Paper Inc. is already investing up to $189 million in a paper mill near Wisconsin Rapids, which is the state's largest economic development deal for 2019, according to the WEDC. But an affiliate of the company called Badger Solutions LLC may also make a large investment in southeast Wisconsin.

Suzano announced investments of R$933.4 million in three projects in Espírito Santo state. The company's plans include the construction of a tissue paper conversion unit, retrofit work in the unit located in Aracruz, as well as expansion of Suzano's forest base in the state.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö has completed the sale of its glass fiber reinforcement business in Mikkeli, Finland, to Vitrulan Composites Oy, a fully owned subsidiary of Vitrulan Group and part of the family-owned industrial holding ADCURAM Group.

An attorney for Southern Pine Plantation said the timberland investment company is buying the land and has no plans to change Weyerhaeuser's long-standing practices related to public access, forest management, grazing, existing outfitting agreements and conservation easements.

Forisk Consulting, a leader in North American forest industry and timber market research, has acquired the North American Wood Fiber Review from Wood Resources International of Bothell, Washington.

The annual net sales of the acquired business is approximately EUR 40 million and it employs altogether approximately 460 people.

Canfor has terminated an arrangement agreement between the company and Jim Pattison's Great Pacific Capital Corporation.

The transaction is planned to be completed in the first quarter of 2020.

The three sawmills, with combined production capacity of 550 million board feet, are located in Cross City (Florida), and Glenwood and El Dorado (Arkansas).

Sonoco announced it has completed the acquisition of Thermoform Engineered Quality, LLC, and Plastique Holdings, LTD, (together TEQ), a global manufacturer of thermoformed packaging serving healthcare, medical device and consumer markets, from ESCO Technologies, Inc. for $187 million in cash.

Weyerhaeuser Company announced an agreement to sell its 630,000 acres of timberland in Montana to a private timberland investment company for $145 million in cash.

If the private equity firms win the election next month, it will likely pave the way for a merger of Verso and Twin Rivers and derail the $400 million sale of Verso mills in Jay and Stevens Point, Wisconsin, to specialty paper company Pixelle Specialty Solutions, the board warned.

Universal Forest Products, Inc. announced it has completed the reorganization of its operations and is now operating as UFP Industries, a change announced in August 2019.

Atlas and Blue Wolf have also sent a letter to stockholders outlining their significant concerns regarding the business performance and governance of Verso and why they believe the election of their three highly-qualified nominees to the Board of Directors of Verso (the "Board") is necessary to ensure that the Company is run in the best interests of all stockholders.

Fortress Global Enterprises Inc. announces that its senior secured lenders have filed an application with the Superior Court of Québec to commence restructuring proceedings in respect of the Company and certain of its material subsidiaries under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act ("CCAA"). Deloitte Restructuring Inc. (the "Monitor") is proposed to be appointed as monitor. Details of the CCAA filing and related matters will soon be available on the Monitor's website.

Verso Corporation announced that it has filed definitive proxy materials with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") in connection the Company's upcoming 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the "Annual Meeting"), scheduled for January 31, 2020.

Be safe -- and healthy

Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), Port Hawkesbury Paper and IFE Project Management Canada (IFE) sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) formalizing their collaboration on the potential Pirate Harbour Wind Farm in Nova Scotia.

"We believe New Brunswicker's deserve to see the maximum environmental and economic benefits on their investment."

Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil has rejected a pulp mill's plea for a deadline extension that would have allowed it to continue dumping wastewater near a First Nation after Jan. 31.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality levied fines last month totaling $27,106 against the Georgia-Pacific Pulp and Paper Mill in Toledo regarding three separate incidents -- two involving unexpected releases from the mill's wastewater treatment system and one involving a lab testing issue.

Sonoco announced it has joined 4evergreen, an international industry alliance dedicated to boosting the role of fiber-based packaging to create a circular and more sustainable economy that reduces climate change and other environmental impacts.

Clearwater Paper and the United Steelworkers Local 712 have reached a tentative agreement that will next go to union members, who will vote to ratify or reject the contract early this month.

Summerville Fire and Rescue responded to a kiln fire at WestRock Packaging Solutions on Tuesday, Dec. 17.

Columbia Falls firefighters responded fire at the Weyerhaeuser medium-density fiberboard (MDF) plant on line two at about 4 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 15.

The International Paper facility in the Springhill-Cullen area is up and running again Tuesday, Dec. 24 after a small fire.

The former professional hockey player from Grand Rapids who was badly injured while on the job at UPM Blandin, a Grand Rapids paper mill, died Tuesday morning, Dec. 17.

A contractor has died following an industrial accident at Graphic Packaging in West Monroe on Wednesday, Dec. 18.

The mill is planning to reopen sometime in January, Rob Baron, a president and the chief executive officer of Marcal Paper said in a statement on Monday. He did not provide a specific opening date, but said a merger with Pennsylvania-based Nittany Paper made the reopening possible.

The investment value is EUR 20 million and the new machinery is scheduled to start up during autumn 2021. The annual production capacity of Metsä Board Kyro mill is 190,000 tonnes.

Sappi North America, Inc. announced the promotion of Tom Radovich to Managing Director of Sappi North America's Cloquet Mill in Minnesota, effective as of Dec. 1, 2019.

Members of the United Steelworkers (USW) union approved a new four-year master agreement with WestRock that sets standards for wages, benefits and working conditions for more than 9,400 union workers at 62 facilities across 26 U.S. states.