RUMFORD – MeadWestvaco Corp. has agreed to sell its paper division to a New York investment firm for $2.3 billion, officials announced Tuesday.

The Rumford paper mill is one of five MeadWestvaco mills sold to Cerberus Capital Management, a private investment firm that controls $14 billion in assets, including Rubbermaid, Formica and the National and Alamo car rental companies.

Tony Lyons, spokesman for the Rumford mill, said MeadWestvaco sold the paper division so that it can concentrate on school and office supplies, chemicals and packaging.

Lyons said he does not expect any change in the number of Rumford employees, now at about 1,100. The mill’s union contracts will remain intact, he said.

The mill’s capital projects, such as those that have led to cleaner water and air, will be reviewed by the new owners once the deal is finalized, Lyons said.

Other MeadWestvaco mills that are included in the Cerberus deal are located in Chillicothe, Ohio; Escanaba, Mich.; Luke, Md.; and Wickliffe, Ky.

“There will be no interruption in the operation of the Rumford mill,” Lyons said, adding that the management team in charge of the paper division is expected to remain in place. That includes the Rumford mill’s plant manager and vice president, Gary Curtis.

Lyons also said that everything is subject to market conditions. But, he added, there is no loss of commitment to paper making.

“This allows us to be an independent company,” he said.

A name for the new company has not yet been chosen. The deal requires regulatory approvals and funding.

Rumford Town Manager Steve Eldridge views the impending sale as a positive step for the town.

“All the paper division will be consolidated into one group and all they’ll be concentrating on is paper making. It’s a positive thing for Rumford,” he said.

Local 900 union President Gary Hemingway was not available for comment on Tuesday.

According to a news release, the purchase should be completed sometime during the second quarter of 2005.

The sale also includes 900,000 acres of forestland in Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee. MeadWestvaco lands in Maine were sold off more than a year ago.

Lyons said the coated paper division of the five mills makes up between 25 percent and 30 percent of MeadWestvaco’s holdings.

The mills have a combined annual capacity of about 2 million tons of coated paper, 290,000 tons of carbonless paper and 110,000 tons of uncoated paper.

Boise Cascade sold the Rumford mill to Mead Corp. in 1996. In early 2002, Mead merged with Westvaco Corp. to create the second largest coated paper company in North America.

The newly-formed paper division management offices under Cerberus will be headquartered in Dayton, Ohio. MeadWestvaco is based in Stamford, Conn.

About 150 employees at the Rumford mill have been laid off since MeadWestvaco took over.