NewPage could file for bankruptcy
Ohio-based NewPage Corp., which operates a mill in Rumford, is exploring restructuring its debt and could be forced to file for bankruptcy.
In its quarterly report filed this week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, NewPage said it has hired advisers "to assist us in exploring various restructuring alternatives and are engaged in discussions with various stakeholders to address our ongoing capital needs." If the company cannot refinance its debt or boost its cash flow, it could decide or be forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As of June 30, the company's current liabilities exceed its assets by $2.5 billion, and it reported a net income loss of $220 million. On Tuesday, Standard & Poor's announced it lowered NewPage's corporate credit rating to CCC from CCC-plus and put the company on a watch list because of worries over its financial stability, the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune reported. NewPage owns assets in that state.
The Rumford mill, owned by New York private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, employs 750 people. A spokesman for the Local 900 of the United Steelworkers told the Sun Journal that news the company might file for bankruptcy is not a surprise. In March, NewPage announced efforts to sell its cogeneration energy assets at the mill through its subsidiary, Rumford Paper Co., to New York-based ReEnergy Holdings LLC for $61 million. The deal would add capital, but its future is uncertain, since "certain conditions to closing the transaction may not be satisfied," NewPage said in its report.
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