Katahdin Paper mill talks end with no sale
Negotiations have ended between the owner of two northern Maine paper mills and a California investment firm looking to buy them, putting the future of 450 jobs into question.
On Friday, Lee Hansen of San Francisco-based Meriturn Partners told the Bangor Daily News that negotiations with Millinocket and East Millinocket officials over property tax breaks had ended without a resolution, leading the firm to withdraw its bid for the two Katahdin Paper Co. LLC mills. Meriturn in February filed a letter of intent to buy the two mills from Brookfield Asset Management and previously requested $48 million in property tax breaks as part of the deal. Katahdin Paper Co. spokesman Rick Grunthaler told the paper that the East Millinocket mill, which has been temporarily shut down since April 1 due to a wood shortage, would not restart Tuesday as planned, but would remain closed until further notice. Brookfield Asset Management has filed a notice to close the mill on April 22, which would leave 450 workers jobless. The Millinocket facility has been closed since 2008.
Meriturn has until April 29 to arrange a deal to buy the two mills, and talks could resume, town officials told the paper. Town leaders plan to meet with Gov. Paul LePage today to discuss other options for selling the properties.
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments