More Paper Mergers

Global consolidation in the paper industry continues. A month after two Scandinavian forest-product companies snatched up U.S. partners in the industry's first transatlantic mergers, two Japanese paper companies have decided to combine operations, creating Japan's biggest paper manufacturer. The combination of Nippon Paper Industries Co. and Daishowa Paper Manufacturing Co. Ltd. -- expected to be completed a year from now -- creates a company with one-third of the Japanese paper market.