Black Diamond wins bid for White Birch

An affiliate of Black Diamond Capital Management L.L.C. submitted the high bid for the assets of White Birch Paper Co., a Greenwich-based company under bankruptcy proceedings that is the second largest producer of newsprint in the country.

Black Diamond has offices in Greenwich and Lake Forest, Ill. With Caspian Capital Advisors L.L.C., it is the majority owner of BD White Birch Investment L.L.C., which won a Sept. 21 auction for White Birch Paper.

If approved, the companies expect to complete the deal by late November, and White Birch indicated it will maintain normal operations throughout the sales process. The company owns a mill in Ashland, Va., and four more in Quebec.

White Birch adopted its corporate name in 2005, having previously been known as Brant-Allen Industries. CEO Peter Brant was in the tabloid headlines this week, after he and supermodel Stephanie Seymour called off their high-profile divorce and said they would reconcile.