Peter Brant, White Birch's chairman and CEO said, "SP Newsprint's world-class assets, power generating facilities and recycling organization present a compelling opportunity." White Birch - currently North America's second largest newsprint producer at 1.35 million tonnes - will gain an expanded market both in North America and overseas and be able to expand in the recycling business, Brant said.

Atlanta-based SP Newsprint is a general partnership among affiliates of Cox Enterprises, Inc., Media General, Inc. and The McClatchy Co. It owns newsprint mills in Dublin, GA, and Newberg, OR, as wells as SP Recycling Corp. which procures fiber in the Southeast and Western US. Newsprint capacity is about 1 million tonnes/year.

White Birch has four mills: three in Quebec at Riviere du Loup, Quebec City and Gatineau; one in Ashland, VA. It also produces directory paper and paperboard products.