xpedx, a business of International Paper and Unisource Worldwide, Inc., have chosen the name Veritiv for the distribution solutions company that will be created upon completion of their merger.
According to a joint press announcement, the name Veritiv comes from the roots of three words: “verity," meaning true, and “active” and “connective." Common stock of the new company is expected to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol VRTV.
“The name of our combined company reflects the core strength of our new organization — our commitment to deliver with excellence and shape our customers’ success,” said Mary Laschinger, who will serve as Veritiv’s chairman and chief executive officer. “Veritiv will meet and exceed our customers’ expectations by providing them with the end-to-end print, packaging, facility and logistic solutions they need to make their key business operations more efficient and more sustainable. We look forward to completing the transaction and leveraging Veritiv’s broad geographic reach, extensive product offerings and differentiated and leading service platform.”
As previously announced, Unisource and xpedx have agreed to merge to create a leading North American business-to-business distribution company. The company will begin operating under the name Veritiv and will introduce its new brand/logo immediately after the closing of the transaction, which is expected to occur early in the third quarter of 2014, upon satisfaction of the remaining closing conditions.
Upon completion of the merger, which is being facilitated through a Reverse Morris Trust structure, the new company will have projected annual revenue in the range of $9 to $10 billion and will have approximately 9,500 team members across more than 170 distribution centers in North America. The combination is expected to generate approximately $150 million to $225 million in annual net synergies.
Advisory: Certain statements in the press release regarding the agreed-upon transactions may be considered “forward-looking statements,” such as statements relating to expectations for Veritiv, whether and when the transactions will close, the expected revenue of Veritiv and the amount of expected cost savings and other synergies to be generated.