Memphis, Tennessee, USA 01 May 2014 -- (Marketwired) -- Verso Paper Corp. (NYSE: VRS), a leading North American producer of coated papers, today announced that its existing senior leadership team will continue to lead Verso following the completion of its pending acquisition of NewPage Holdings Inc.

As previously announced on Jan. 6, 2014, Verso and NewPage entered into a definitive agreement for Verso to acquire NewPage in a transaction valued at $1.4 billion. The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, is expected to close in the second half of 2014, subject to regulatory approvals.

David J. Paterson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Verso, will continue to lead the combined entity after the closing. The rest of the company's senior leadership team announced today will consist of the following persons, each of whom also currently is an executive of Verso:

• Lyle J. Fellows, Senior Vice President of Manufacturing and Energy, will be responsible for the mill and converting network, forest resources, manufacturing technology and energy.
  
  
• Robert P. Mundy, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will have responsibility for all financial areas, including financial planning and analysis, tax, corporate finance and treasury functions, accounting and audit functions, and investor relations.
  
  
• Michael A. Weinhold, Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Product Development, will be responsible for sales, marketing, eCommerce, new business development, planning, logistics, customer service, field technical sales, product development and pricing management.
  
  
• Peter H. Kesser, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, will have responsibility for all legal matters, including governance and compliance.
  
  
• Kenneth D. Sawyer, Vice President of Human Resources, will be responsible for all human resources and people systems, including talent selection, labor relations, performance management, compensation and benefits.
  
  
• Benjamin Hinchman, IV, Vice President and Chief Information Officer, will have responsibility for planning, development and operation of all information technology systems.
  
  
• Joseph Duffy, Vice President of Integrated Planning and Control, will be responsible for the integration of the two companies and other business coordination and planning activities.

"Today's announcement enables us to continue moving forward to complete Verso's acquisition of NewPage and thereby create a stronger business that is better positioned to serve our customers and create value for our stakeholders," Paterson said. "This seasoned team of executives has the solid experience and proven leadership to effectively integrate the businesses, drive cost improvements and capture synergy benefits so that we can position the combined entity to succeed in an increasingly competitive global marketplace."

Prior to closing, the current leadership teams of Verso and NewPage will continue to lead their respective organizations to ensure that both companies continue to provide quality products and services to their customers and to reach completion of the proposed transaction. In addition, representatives from both Verso and NewPage will be in charge of leading integration planning activities on behalf of the combined entity after the closing. The two companies will work together in the interest of a smooth transition for their stakeholders, and their focus will be to retain the best talent from Verso and NewPage going forward.

About Verso

Verso Paper Corp. is a leading North American producer of coated papers, including coated groundwood and coated freesheet, and specialty products. Verso is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, and owns three paper mills in Maine and Michigan. Total production capacity generated from these mills is 1.5 million tons of paper and 930,000 tons of pulp. Verso's paper products are used primarily in media and marketing applications, including magazines, catalogs and commercial printing applications such as high-end advertising brochures, annual reports and direct-mail advertising. Additional information about Verso is available on its website at www.versopaper.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

In this press release, all statements that are not purely historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project," "plan," "estimate," "intend" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on currently available business, economic, financial and other information and reflect management's current beliefs, expectations and views with respect to future developments and their potential effects on Verso. Actual results could vary materially depending on risks and uncertainties that may affect Verso and its business. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, please refer to Verso's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Verso assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement made in this press release to reflect subsequent events or circumstances or actual outcomes.