“Volatile market conditions” prevented the deal, Mark Richards, Appleton chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. The merger plan was first announced in mid-May.
“After consulting with Hicks’ management, we have decided to discontinue the transaction,” Richards said in the statement.
The release says nothing about the company’s previously announced plans to become a publicly traded company. A message was left with a company spokesman.
Hicks, an acquisition company, is already traded on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol, “HKAC.”
This year, the company has laid off some 330 workers at its 1030 W. Alex-Bell Road paper mill after it established a paper supply agreement with a longtime supplier, Domtar. About 100 workers were to remain at the plant, which was to become a thermal paper coating facility, part of the company’s shift away from making paper to a focus on coating paper and specialty chemicals.
Appleton says the name “Appvion” combines the words “applied” and “innovation” and reflects the company’s new direction.
Appleton has some 1,800 employees in total and saw sales of nearly $860 million in 2011.