On Oct. 29, Boise, ID-based Boise Cascade Corp. completed the sale of its paper, forest products, and timberland assets for approximately $3.7 billion to affiliates of Boise Cascade LLC, a company formed by Madison Dearborn Partners LLC. What remains of Boise Cascade–the office products distribution business–changed its name to OfficeMax on Nov. 1. The company’s ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange also changed, from “BCC” to “OMX.” Its corporate headquarters will be located in Itasca, IL.
Among other changes, George Harad, previously chairman/CEO of Boise Cascade Corp., was elected executive chairman of the board of OfficeMax. Chris Milliken, formerly division president/CEO of Boise Office Solutions, was named president/CEO and a director of OfficeMax.
The sale of Boise Cascade’s paper and forestry assets was valued at approximately $3.7 billion. OfficeMax will initially realize approximately $2.0 billion in cash and timberland installment notes of $1.65 billion. Through debt repurchases and retirements, OfficeMax is expected to reduce its balance sheet debt to $250 million-$300 million during the coming months. As of Nov. 1, the company repaid $588 million of bank debt.