Regions Southeast
Pratt Secures $112M in Financing for New Louisiana Paper Mill
July 21, 2008
By: Tonie Auer, Southwest Correspondent

Pratt Industries U.S.A., one of the country’s largest paper and packaging companies, has secured $112 million through GE Commercial Finance Corporate Lending to fund the development, construction, and operation of a greenfield recycled containerboard facility in Shreveport, La.

Once operational, The project will use 100 percent recycled fiber input to produce approximately 360,000 tons of containerboard per year.

A Pratt spokesperson told CPN that GE’s knowledge of the corrugated packaging manufacturing industry coupled with its project finance expertise allowed the firm to get the capital it required for the Louisiana mill. The mill will open late this year and is planned to supply the company's growing internal demand for more paper.

In a recorded explanation on the GE website, Jonathan Rager, a pulp, paper and packing industry leader for GE Corporate Lending, stated that the industry faces many structural challenges due to cyclical product pricing, slow demand growth due to mature markets and the very capital-intensive nature of the manufacturing base of the forest products industry.

“The opportunities in the industry are many,” Rager said. “Producers have streamlined opportunities to reduce cost, stepped up to aggressively manage product supply to market demand and pursued industry consolidation among major grade lines.”

Based in Conyers, Ga., Pratt Industries is America's seventh largest paper and packaging company with annual sales approaching $1 billion. The firm employs 3,500 people nationwide.

With $17 billion in assets, GE Commercial Finance Corporate Lending is one of North America’s largest providers of asset-based, cash flow, structured finance and other financial solutions for mid-size and large companies.

With more than 30 offices throughout the United States and Canada, GE Corporate Lending specializes in serving the needs of borrowers seeking $20 million to $2 billion and more for working capital, growth, acquisitions, project finance and turnarounds.

 
Recent Southeast Headlines
Tri-City Electrical Contractors to Build 400,000-SF Support Center in Orlando
The Central Florida commercial division of Tri-City Electrical Contractors Inc. is under way on $8 million of work at Darden Restaurants’ new 400,000-square-foot LEED-certified Support Center as well as  16,284-square-foot LEED-certified Data Center, both located on Taft-Vineland Road in Orlando, Fla., under its contract with Hardin Construction.
Grubb & Ellis Realty Investors Nabs 199,000SF Atlanta Office
One Live Oak, a 199,000-square-foot office property in Atlanta, has just been snapped up by Grubb & Ellis Realty Investors L.L.C., which made the purchase on behalf of tenant-in-common investors. Crescent Real Estate Equities was the seller, having shelled out $31 million to acquire the property from TMW Real Estate Group in late 2004.
Post Sells Atlanta Apartment Property, Refinances Others
It’s only Wednesday and already it’s been a big week for upscale multi-family developer Post Properties of Atlanta. The REIT has sold its 250-unit Post Oglethorpe apartment community in Atlanta’s Brookhaven area for $38.5 million and has refinanced two apartment complexes held in joint ventures. In addition, two of the big three credit rating agencies recently had some news for the company.
Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman Expands U.S. Platform
As the real estate investment market continues to be challenged by credit and liquidity issues, Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman has announced it will expand its U.S. platform into new markets to help meet increasing demand for access to debt and equity capital sources.
Parkway Pockets $25M in Sale of St. Petersburg Office
Parkway Properties Inc. has concluded the $26 million disposition of Wachovia Plaza, a 186,000-square-foot office asset in St. Petersburg, Fla., that the company has owned since 1998.