BANGOR, Maine - A federal judge has ruled that Verso Paper's sale of the Bucksport Mill to a Canada-based scrap metal recycler does not violate federal antitrust laws.
The decision, by Judge John Woodcock, paves the way for Verso to complete the $58 million deal with American Iron and Metal or AIM.
The International Association of Machinists had argued that Verso was trying to eliminate competition in the market for coated paper by selling to AIM instead of another paper-maker.
In a 73-page ruling, issued after a morning hearing in U.S. District Court in Bangor, Judge John Woodcock said the plaintiffs in the case - the machinists union - failed to prove that its case would have a strong likelihood of success, under federal antitrust law.
"As you can imagine, we are truly disappointed in the judge's decision today," says John Carr, a spokesperson with the International Association of Machinists. "This fight was for the working families there, in and around that community in Bucksport, and saving that mill, so that we could preserve the good jobs - and, of course, that community."
Carr says the union is speaking with its legal team to figure out how - or if - to proceed.
The ruling now paves the way for Verso to complete its sale of the Bucksport Mill to AIM. In 2013, AIM bought, and later demolished, another Verso mill in Sartell, Minnesota. But Herb Black, the firm's CEO, says that doesn't necessarily mean that that's what's going to happen in Bucksport.
"Believe me, if I can make money running that mill, or sell it as a mill, you've got the right guy," Black says. "I'm the first guy in line to sell it."
In the days before Judge Woodcock's ruling, three parties wrote letters to the court expressing interest in the mill. One of them, Mumbai-based Kejriwal Singapore International, says it's the world's largest manufacturer of ruled recycled paper products, with over $1 billion in sales.
But AIM's Black says he's met with the company's top executive, who hasn't offered to put any money down for a transaction. Two other companies - Minimill Technologies Inc. of Syracuse, New York and Fibre Technologies of Reading, Pennsylvania - also say they want to look at the mill.
"I think the mill is worth more than what they paid for," says Derek Goodine, Bucksport's town manager. In 2014, the mill was assessed at a value of more than $300 million. Verso has agreed to sell it to AIM for just $58 million.
"AIM came in, made an offer and it was accepted," Goodine says. "Why Verso didn't try to get other offers to compare that one offer from is the real question."
In its suit, the machinists union contended it was because Verso wasn't interested in seeing another papermaker move in to a mill that it had spent millions upgrading in recent years. An attorney for Verso declined to comment on the sale to AIM or Judge Woodcock's ruling.
The big question now is what kind of offer it would take to get AIM to sell the mill intact, instead of dismantling it. Herb Black mentions Cuba Gooding Jr.'s famous line to Tom Cruise in the movie Jerry McGuire. "Show me the money."
How willing AIM is to sell the mill will become more clear in the coming days. One thing's for sure: Any potential buyer is going to have to pay a lot more than $58 million.