Business Management - Marketing/Sales

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-The Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC) recently released the 2006 edition of its annual publication, Performance Report for Management. For more than 50 years, the Performance Report for Management has provided an opportunity for PPC member companies to benchmark their financial and operating performance. The annual report consists of financial ratios and cost-of-sales data compiled from balance sheets and operating statements supplied by PPC member companies. The Performance Report is the only report available that looks exclusively at the financial performance of folding carton operations. The report offers financial measures including sales expenses, administrative expenses, materials costs, profits, taxes, salaries and wages, profits,

CHICAGO--Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. has announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell all of the assets of its consumer packaging segment to a company formed by Texas Pacific Group (“TPG”) for approximately $1.04 billion in cash. Texas Pacific Group has arranged fully committed financing for the transaction, which the parties expect to complete by the end of the second quarter. The businesses to be sold employ approximately 6,600 employees and include: * Four coated recycled boxboard mills; and * 39 consumer packaging converting operations in the United States including folding carton, multiwall and specialty bag, flexible packaging, label, contract packaging and lamination businesses; and *