. . . eliminating ESOP repayment obligations and deleveraging your balance sheet. Appleton Papers announces they will "merge" with Hicks Acquisition Company II and create a new entity called APPVION (hint: APPlied innoVatION). The deal values the new company at $675mm (as of 1Q:2012 Appleton had $505mm net debt). The company will be listed on the NASDAQ after the merger is completed, presumably in July.
HAC II was founded in October, 2010 by Thomas O. Hicks. Yes, that Tom Hicks. In September 2007, Hicks Acquisition Company I was formed and merged with Resolute Energy in 2009. Click here to see how that merger has worked out (so far, better than his Texas professional sport teams did).
