Pixelle Announces Agreement to Sell Stevens Point Facility to Ahlstrom
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025, subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions.
'We are incredibly proud of the team at Stevens Point. Their dedication and performance have been vital to the facility's success, and we are sincerely grateful for the community's support over the years,' said Ross Bushnell, President and CEO of Pixelle. 'Ahlstrom is a highly respected global leader, and we're confident they will carry forward the strong legacy and operations of the Stevens Point facility.'
Pixelle remains focused on delivering high-end solutions in food and consumer packaging applications to customers across North America, backed by a stable and experienced manufacturing network. The company continues to prioritize operational excellence, customer service, and identifying opportunities aligned with its long-term strategic vision. This decision was made following careful consideration of how to best support those goals.
'The acquisition of the Stevens Point operation is a pivotal step in our journey to enhance our technology offerings and expand our solutions and market coverage,' says Konraad Dullaert, Executive Vice President (EVP) Food & Consumer Packaging and Chief Innovation Officer, Ahlstrom. 'This business and its highly experienced, top-class team will significantly enhance our capabilities, enabling us to deliver innovative and sustainable packaging solutions to our customers in North America and beyond. We are excited about the opportunities this acquisition brings and are committed to leveraging these advancements to drive growth.'
Pixelle has operated the Stevens Point facility since 2020. The company is committed to working with Ahlstrom to support a smooth transition for employees, customers, and partners.
UBS Investment Bank served as financial advisor and Ropes & Gray provided legal counsel to Pixelle on the transaction.
About Pixelle Specialty Solutions
Headquartered in Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, Pixelle Specialty Solutions LLC is a leading manufacturer of specialty papers, with operations across North America. Through innovation, quality, collaboration, and research and development, Pixelle – a proud American company – delivers high-performance solutions with one of the most comprehensive portfolios in the industry.
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The mortgage buydown backfire
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Rick Palacios Jr., director of research at John Burns Research and Consulting The other popular option is a temporary deal, which usually comes in the form of a "2-1 buydown." The builder sets aside cash to lower the buyer's mortgage rate by two percentage points for the first year and one point for the second year, after which it bumps up to the prevailing rate at the time of the home purchase. Again, let's say the prevailing rate is around 6.5%. A buyer with a 2-1 rate buydown would get a rate of 4.5% in the first year, 5.5% in the second, and 6.5% from there on out. If they took out a $400,000 loan, they'd be saving more than $500 every month that first year and more than $250 a month in the second year. That's a total savings of more than $9,000. In theory, this would allow a buyer to stretch their budget a little further to get the place they want, while also giving them some flexibility to refinance down the line if rates drop. 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The typical mortgage rate has yet to slide in a meaningful way. Home prices are up less than 2% nationwide from a year ago, data from the real estate firm Redfin shows, and major metros like Houston, Austin, and Jacksonville recently posted year-over-year price declines. While buyers in 2022 or 2023 might have been willing to accept higher prices in exchange for savings on their monthly payments, they usually can't pass along those benefits to the next owner of the house. If they want to get a deal done, they might have to either cut that once-inflated price or pay tens of thousands of dollars to offer a rate buydown to the next buyer. An executive at KB Home, one of the nation's largest builders, recently said in an earnings call that many customers are "overpaying" for homes that offer these incentives, suggesting they could have a harder time clearing a profit in the future. "They're tied into this higher price that they're going to be stuck with forever until they sell that home." If you so much as dipped your toe into the housing market sometime in the past few years, there's a good chance you encountered the phrase, " Marry the house, date the rate." The mantra got plenty of airtime when mortgage rates spiked in 2022 — the prevailing sentiment among agents, lenders, and real estate execs was that the jump in rates would soon blow over. Don't stress too much, the logic went, because you can always refinance when rates drop back down. Better to just find a good place while you can. That mindset has so far turned out to be wishful thinking. And while there haven't yet been signs of widespread strain in the market, homeowners who got a buydown just a few years ago may be facing a significant jump in their monthly payments or the prospect of selling for far less than they'd hoped. "I'm hearing more and more stories of buyer's remorse," says Jess Uphoff, a mortgage lender who previously worked for a homebuilder. Not long ago, a temporary buydown seemed like a win-win: Builders could keep list prices higher while still passing along savings to buyers in the form of lower monthly payments. But if one of those buyers is trying to sell now, they'll likely be competing against the same builder who sold them their home — "only the builder has been steadily lowering prices or layering on new incentives." Uphoff says. "That means homeowners often can't resell for what they originally paid." At the end of May, for example, the homebuilding giant Lennar said its average incentive per home had stretched to nearly $60,000, up from $44,000 a year prior. I'm hearing more and more stories of buyer's remorse. Jess Uphoff, mortgage lender Rate buydowns aren't always a trap for buyers. People who got a permanent buydown a few years ago may feel pretty good about that decision, given that rates haven't yet dropped significantly. But Lauryn Dempsey, a real estate agent in the Denver area, says she counsels buyers to make sure they'll be staying in the home for at least five to seven years if they get one of these deals. "Where I'm running into challenges right now is with the people who bought a couple of years ago that want to sell," Dempsey tells me. "I'm bringing estimated net proceeds that have negative numbers attached to them, so the seller has to bring cash to the closing. And I know I'm not alone in that right now." Hutton, the homeowner in the Denver area, fell into this camp. He and his wife paid nearly $800,000 for their new house in 2024, while the builder bought down the mortgage rate by about one percentage point. That may not sound like a lot, but that meant they were paying hundreds of dollars less in interest every month. The Huttons won't be sticking around to enjoy those benefits, though. 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