Verso Will Be Acquired in an $825 Million Deal
Verso Corporation (NYSE: VRS) (“Verso”) today announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement under which BillerudKorsnäs AB (“BillerudKorsnäs”) will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Verso for a purchase price of $27 per share in cash, or approximately $825 million1. Verso’s Board of Directors, acting upon the recommendation of a special committee of Verso’s Board, has unanimously approved and resolved to recommend approval of the merger by Verso’s shareholders. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022.
The consideration corresponds to a premium of approximately 35% compared to closing price of Verso’s shares on December 17, 2021; a premium of approximately 26% compared to Verso’s volume-weighted average share price during the last 30 trading days; and a premium of approximately 57% compared to the unaffected closing price of Verso’s shares on July 9, 2021, the day prior to Atlas Holdings’ submission of an unsolicited, non-binding proposal to acquire Verso for $20.00 per share in cash.
