PanAmerican Capital Group, a private equity firm, has purchased an idle paper mill in West Feliciana, Louisiana, and will reopen it by early 2010, according to the Louisiana governor's office. The project is expected to create a minimum of 200 new jobs at an average annual salary of $71,400 plus benefits, with the possibility of 375 jobs by 2012. The facility, which was closed in 2007, was formerly owned by Canadian paper manufacturer Tembec, which sold the mill to the state. The Associated Press reports that the state sold it and 600 nearby acres to PanAmerican for $16 million; PanAmerican has agreed to invest $30 million for improvements to the facility. The governor's office says the group investigated mills in several states but chose the Louisiana facility due to its flexibility, the region's strong woodbasket, and the state's incentive package. The state will provide $4 million toward facility improvements and an additional $2 million loan, along with job-contingent annual incentive payments ranging from $1.9 million to $3 million after three years of operation.
