One Atlantic Center
1201 West Peachtree Street
Atlanta, GA 30309-3424
404-881-7000
Fax:404-881-7777
www.alston.com
November 29, 2007
Mark P. Shuman
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
Washington, D.C. 20549
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Re: |
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New Giant Corporation
Amendment No. 1 to Registration Statement on Form S-4
Filed on October 17, 2007
File No. 333-145849 |
Dear Mr. Shuman:
On November 29, 2007 New Giant Corporation (New Graphic or the Company) filed via EDGAR
Amendment No. 2 to the above-referenced Registration Statement on Form S-4 (Amendment No. 2 to the
Registration Statement).
Set forth below are the Companys responses to the comments of the staff of the Division of
Corporation Finance (the Staff) contained in the Staffs letter to the Company dated November 9,
2007. The responses below are numbered to correspond with the paragraphs of the Staffs comment
letter. The references in the Companys responses below to page numbers refer to the pages in the
blacklined courtesy copies of Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement, which we are providing
to you for your convenience. Also note that the Company has updated historical financial, pro
forma and other information in Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement for the third quarter
ended September 30, 2007.
Opinion of Financial Advisor to Graphic, page 40
Contribution Analysis, page 41
1. |
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Please disclose the projections of EBITDA and free cash flow relied upon by Goldman Sachs in
performing the contribution analysis. Goldman Sachs appears to have used these same
projections in the analysis of transaction implied multiples and the illustrative future stock
price analysis. |
In response to the Staffs comment, the disclosure has been revised. Please see pages 48 to
49 of Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement.
Atlanta Charlotte Dallas New York Research Triangle Washington, D.C.
2. |
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Please disclose at the end of this section, for purposes of making the comparison, the pro
forma ownership of the combined company by Graphic and BCH stockholders following consummation
of the transactions. |
In response to the Staffs comment, the disclosure has been revised. Please see page 42 of
Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement.
3. |
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Please disclose why Goldman Sachs did not simply add the estimates of EBITDA and free cash
flow for the two companies and calculate percentages based on the sum of these two values. In
other words, please disclose how these estimates were used to derive the implied equity
percentages disclosed in the chart on page 42. |
In response to the Staffs comment, the disclosure has been revised. Please see page 42 of
Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement.
Analysis of Transaction Implied Multiples, page 42
4. |
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Please clarify your disclosure as to how Goldman Sachs arrived at an implied enterprise value
for BCH of $1.8 billion. |
In response to the Staffs comment, the disclosure has been revised. Please see page 42 of
Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement.
5. |
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This analysis appears to demonstrate that under all projections, the current purchase price
values BCH at more than the implied multiple for Graphic itself, and notably more than the
implied multiple of Rock-Tenn. If this is the case, please disclose this in clear language
for your investors. |
In response to the Staffs comment, the disclosure has been revised to present the actual
implied multiples for each period, rather than as ranges of implied multiples. The Company
believes that presentation in this manner facilitates the ability of investors to compare the
implied multiples for BCH, Graphic and Rock-Tenn. Please see page 43 of Amendment No. 2 to the
Registration Statement.
6. |
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We note your response to comment 12 of our letter dated October 4, 2007. If Goldman Sachs
provided an informational report to the Graphic board of directors regarding implied multiples
for other companies in the paper-based packaging industry, please disclose for your investors
the results of those reports. Please also disclose for investors why Goldman Sachs performed
a formal analysis for only one comparable company. |
In response to the Staffs comment, the disclosure has been revised. Please see page 43 of
Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement.
Illustrative Discounted Cash Flow Analysis, page 43
7. |
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Please disclose in this section, for purposes of making the comparison, the pro forma
ownership of the combined company by Graphic and BCH stockholders following consummation of
the transactions. Then, please compare these figures for your investors with the implied pro
forma ownership calculated in your analysis. |
In response to the Staffs comment, the disclosure has been revised. Please see pages 43 to
44 of Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement.
8. |
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Similarly, please disclose in this section, for purposes of making the comparison, the
current equity values Goldman Sachs calculated for both BCH and Graphic, as developed, for
instance, in the analysis of transaction implied multiples. Then, please compare these
figures for your investors with the illustrative equity values arrived at in your discounted
cash flow analysis. |
In response to the Staffs comment, the disclosure has been revised. Please see page 44 of
Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement.
Selected Transactions Analysis, page 43
9. |
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We refer to comment 14 of our letter dated October 4, 2007. Please explain the significance
of the comparison of levered aggregate consideration as a multiple of last twelve months
sales, if comparable figures were not developed for the current transaction. |
Goldman Sachs did not believe that developing an implied multiple of enterprise value to last
twelve months sales would be meaningful with respect to Graphic or the current transaction because
of certain aspects of the paper-based packaging industry, including the impact of the cost of raw
materials, pricing within customer contracts, pricing elasticity, the ability to pass on cost
inflation, operating leverage, supply contracts, geographic location and its capital intensive
nature. Therefore, it does not believe that the comparison of levered aggregate consideration as a
multiple of last twelve months sales among selected transactions in the packaging industry that was
provided to the Graphic board of directors is significant, and such comparison was provided for
informational purposes only.
Illustrative Future Stock Price Analysis, page 44
10. |
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Please disclose why Goldman Sachs applied a forward EBITDA trading multiple of 8.5x in each
of the three scenarios. Likewise, please explain why Goldman Sachs used an equity discount
rate of 12% in this analysis. Finally, |
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please briefly describe how Goldman Sachs adjusted the EBITDA estimates to include
synergies. |
In response to the Staffs comment, the disclosure has been revised. Please see page 45 of
Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement.
Miscellaneous, page 45
11. |
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We note that the description of the material relationships between Goldman Sachs and Graphic
does not provide a narrative and quantitative description of the fees paid or to be paid to
Goldman Sachs and its affiliates by Graphic and its affiliates in connection with services
provided during the past two years. Please revise the registration statement to provide such
disclosures. If Goldman Sachs has an equity interest in Graphic, please disclose this to
investors. |
In response to the Staffs comment, the disclosure has been revised. Please see page 47 of
Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement.
* * *
If you have any questions or if the Staff has further comment, please call either me at (404)
881-7936 or Justin R. Howard at (404) 881-7758.
Sincerely,
/s/ William Scott Ortwein
William Scott Ortwein
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cc: |
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David L. Orlic, Esq.
Stephen A. Hellrung, Esq. |