Sole Source Capital LLC, an industrial-focused private equity firm, announced that its portfolio company, ID Images (“IDI”), a premier provider of product identification solutions, has acquired Lebanon, Tennessee-based Hickman Label. The acquisition marks the fifth add-on investment for IDI since it became a Sole Source Capital portfolio company in August 2021. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed. Founded in 2016, Hickman Label is a provider of highly-customized label solutions for the ondemand inkjet market. On-demand inkjet labels enable customers to print small batch, prime labels via their own desktop printers. In addition, Hickman’s robust ordering platform has the unique capability of integrating into its distribution customers’ websites utilizing a plug-in tool. The company sells to a mix of distributors and end users with more than 2,000 active customers across North America.

Verso Corporation announced that its board of directors, as part of its ongoing efforts to maximize stockholder value, has formed a Strategic Alternatives Committee comprised of independent directors Eugene I. Davis, Alan J. Carr and Steven D. Scheiwe, with Mr. Davis serving as chairperson. The committee, with the assistance of Houlihan Lokey Capital, Inc., the company's financial advisor, will lead Verso's continuing efforts to identify and evaluate a range of potential strategic transaction alternatives, including the possible sale of some Verso mills, engage in discussions and oversee the due diligence process with parties potentially interested in transactions with the company, and recommend to the board whether any proposed transaction is in the best interests of the company and its stockholders. "Verso is committed to exploring strategic transaction alternatives, and the committee will facilitate this process," said Verso Chairman of the Board Rob Amen. "The committee is charged with proceeding expeditiously, but will evaluate alternatives carefully for their ability to provide superior value to Verso's stockholders." Click Read More below for additional detail.

Sappi, a leading producer and supplier of diversified paper, packaging products and dissolving pulp, today launched Arrio, a decorative laminate surface solution that delivers remarkable aesthetics, premium haptics and scratch and fingerprint resistance for high-wear surfaces. By designing Arrio to serve the unmet needs of customers, Sappi will now become the only company that provides high-fidelity, 100% replicated textured finished surfaces available in flat, then expanding to include a 3D texture library over time. With its durable acrylic surface, Arrio provides extraordinarily detailed, realistic finished surfaces that will eventually support multiple textures and décor colors, gloss effects, varying depths and visible contrast. Sappi’s high-precision manufacturing process generates the exact same surface finish over time without variation or loss of definition. Arrio, which offers a superior surface to conventional melamine in aesthetics and performance, is a perfect solution for decorative and functional surfaces on furniture, work surfaces, kitchen cabinetry and more.