IP, Graphic Packaging Enter Deal on IP Packaging Business

International Paper Co. has signed a definitive agreement to restructure its North America Consumer Packaging business with Graphic Packaging in a transaction valued at $1.8 billion.

IP plans to use $660 million in cash proceeds from a loan being assumed by Graphic Packaging to pay down existing debt, according to a press release. IP will also receive a 20.5 percent ownership interest valued at $1.14 billion in a subsidiary of Graphic Packaging that will hold the assets for the combined business.

The transaction is expected to close in early 2018, subject to regulatory approval and closing conditions.

“After evaluating a range of strategic options, we believe this transaction represents excellent value for IP’s shareholders,” International Paper chairman and CEO Mark Sutton said in a release. “Investing in Graphic Packaging gives IP the opportunity to benefit from a much stronger value-creation consumer packaging platform, while allowing us to remain focused on growing value in our core businesses.”

Memphis-based International Paper plans to further discuss the transaction at its quarterly earnings call on Wednesday, Oct. 25, beginning at 9 a.m. (CT).

– Daily News staff

Grizzlies Rally Late To Surprise Rockets

The Memphis Grizzlies are off to a 3-0 start after going into Houston and beating the Rockets 98-90 on Monday, Oct. 23. The Grizzlies closed the game on a 20-2 run.

“When you can trust your defense is going to be there at the end of the game, you don’t have to put as much pressure on your offense,” said center Marc Gasol, who led the Grizzlies with 26 points.

Point guard Mike Conley finished with 17 points and had a couple of key 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Forward James Ennis posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Guard Eric Gordon paced Houston with 27 points and seven assists and guard James Harden had 22 points and eight assists.

The Grizzlies play at Dallas on Wednesday, Oct. 25, and then the Mavericks come to FedExForum for a 7 p.m. game the very next night.

– Don Wade

U of M School of Nursing Honored for Diversity

The University of Memphis Loewenberg College of Nursing is one of 24 health professions schools to receive the 2017 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.

The Health Professions HEED Award is the only national honor recognizing U.S. medical, dental, pharmacy, veterinary, osteopathic, nursing and allied health schools that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion across their campuses.

The 24 honorees will be featured in the December 2017 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity.

“We have made concerted efforts to diversify our faculty and students since we included diversity as one of our college core values in 2011,” said Dr. Lin Zhan, dean of the Loewenberg College. “Our faculty have used poverty simulations to educate students about social determinants of health, and through service learning providing foot care to the Memphis homeless population. Many of our family nurse practitioner graduates practice in medically underserved areas. As nurses serve diverse populations, we have a professional responsibility to diversify the nursing workforce and serve our diverse populations as evidence shows diversity adds great value to quality care.”

The Health Professions HEED Award process consists of a comprehensive and rigorous application that includes questions relating to the recruitment and retention of students and employees -- and best practices for both – continued leadership support for diversity, and other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion.

– Don Wade

BankTennessee Launches New Investment Division

Collierville-based BankTennessee has launched an investment and wealth services division.

The bank has also tapped Gena Wolbrecht, a former Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitrator, to lead the division, which is called BTN Wealth Services, as program manager.

Clients will get comprehensive wealth management and investment services through a partnership with Cetera Investment Services as the broker-dealer and Cetera Investment Advisers as the registered investment adviser.

Prior to joining BankTennessee, Wolbrecht was senior vice president and platform investments executive for the licensed banker platform program at Regions Investment Services. She also has served as a FINRA arbitrator since 2002.

– Andy Meek

Dixon Gallery Receives Major Gift From Donors

The Dixon Gallery and Gardens board of trustees has voted to formally accept a major gift from two donors who live in St. Louis – John and Susan Horseman, who proposed a contribution of 28 American paintings, sculpture and works on paper to the Dixon’s permanent collection.

According to Dixon board chair C. Penn Owen III, the gift is among the most “important and impressive acts of collection building in our history.”

John Horseman has served on the Dixon board of trustees for more than six years. The Horsemans’ gift includes examples by significant American artists like Hugh Breckenridge, Richard E. Miller, Elizabeth Nourse, Hovsep Pushman, Alice Schille, Bessie Potter Vonnoh and many others.

The addition of their works to the Dixon permanent collection will allow the museum to expand its presentation and exploration of the dynamic artistic developments that took place in late 19th and early 20th-century Europe and America.

– Andy Meek

ALCO Management Earns Top 25 Employer Award

ALCO Management Inc. has been named by Multifamily Leadership for 2018 as one of the top 25 Best Places to Work Multifamily.

The listing is published annually in the Multifamily Leadership magazine Best Places to Work special edition.

ALCO’s final ranking among the Top 25 will be revealed at the Multifamily Leadership Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, in mid-November.

The Top 25 listing is significant because companies chosen are nationally ranked based on employee engagement research by Multifamily Leadership, a well-known industry organization. ALCO employees’ survey responses were included in the research findings.

“We are thrilled to be receiving this honor,” said ALCO CEO Frank Jemison, “but most of all we’re happy because what this really means, is that we’re doing a great job as an employer. We’ve known for a long time that the greatest asset we have at ALCO are the people who work here.”

In addition to celebrating companies, the Multifamily Leadership Summit draws executives from top companies and thought leaders to share information with peers and work together as a group to envision the future of multifamily.

Headquartered in Memphis, ALCO has a portfolio of more than 7,500 conventional and affordable apartments.

– Daily News staff

U.S. Dept. of Education Grant Aids Child Care at Southwest

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded a grant of nearly $800,000 to Southwest Tennessee Community College to fund care for 45 children, ages 2 ½ to 5 years old, of Pell-eligible students pursuing an associate degree.

Mary Palmer, Ph.D., director of child care centers at Southwest, says child care is a critical resource for helping students persist to the commencement stage.

Southwest president Dr. Tracy D. Hall says the Childcare Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) grant enables the college to go beyond providing wrap-around services more and more students need today.

“The CCAMPIS grant is a tremendous opportunity for Southwest to not only serve more students, but also to support the next generation and offer the entire family holistic opportunities for growth,” Hall said in a statement.

The CCAMPIS program initially will roll out at the nationally accredited Early Childhood Education Center on Southwest’s Union Avenue campus. Southwest cares for nearly 250 children at centers on its Union Avenue and Macon Cove campuses.

Both child care centers have received the highest ratings from Tennessee’s Star Quality Program.

– Daily News staff