MeadWestvaco to sell European tobacco folding carton business to Sweden's AR Packaging Group

Packaging company MeadWestvaco Corp. is selling its European-based tobacco folding carton business.

The Richmond, Virginia-based company said Thursday it has signed a definitive agreement with Swedish company AR Packaging Group AB.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to be completed in the next several months.

MeadWestvaco says the business has annual revenue of about $190 million. It makes packaging for tobacco, chocolate and consumer apparel at facilities in Austria, Poland and Russia with about 680 employees.

The company says it will continue to produce paperboard for global tobacco markets at its Covington, Virginia, paperboard mill.

Earlier this month, MeadWestvaco announced plans to spin off its specialty chemicals business into a separate, publicly traded company.

Its shares rose 56 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $45.47 in midday trading.