BUCKSPORT, Maine (From The Bangor Daily News) -- Despite a flurry of legal action and the hopes of millworkers who wanted to continue making paper, the sale of the Verso mill to a subsidiary of scrap dealer American Iron and Metal has been completed, a company spokesman confirmed Friday.

"The sale has closed," Verso Paper Co. spokesman Bill Cohen said in an email.

The sale price to AIM Development was $58 million, according to earlier published reports.

The International Association of Machinists, which represented 59 workers at the mill, filed a lawsuit against Verso and AIM in December, alleging Verso violated antitrust regulations by ignoring inquiries from other paper companies so it could reduce competition in the North American coated paper market.

U.S. District Judge John Woodcock, however, disagreed when he issued a 73-page ruling earlier this month saying lawyers for the machinists union "have not met their burden to demonstrate a strong likelihood of success on the merits of their claims."

With the mill's closure and sale, more than 500 employees were left without jobs.

AIM confirmed in court documents it has some interest in using the mill site as a permanent recycling facility for its deepwater port access. The testimony before Woodcock indicated the company expects it would be ready to sell salvaged metal from the mill about six months after closing the sale.

On Friday morning, Bucksport Town Manager Derik Goodine and Development Director Dave Milan were at a meeting at the Verso mill and were not immediately available for comment.

Town Councilor Byron Vinton said he is glad AIM representatives so far seem willing to talk to Bucksport officials about the future of the mill.

"We're looking forward to working with them," he said. "They're the owners of the property now. We acknowledge that. We're looking forward to getting the best solution for Bucksport."
It would be great, Vinton said, if that solution includes working things out with one of the paper companies that have expressed interest in purchasing the Verso mill.

"We'll have to see what time brings," the councilor said. "At least now we know who we're dealing with. For the last several months, we've been the odd man out. We haven't had a lot of success communicating with Verso. Now we know who the owner is so we can work with them. All we ask is the opportunity to put our thoughts into the mix."

AIM owner Herb Black, contacted on his cellphone Friday morning, said he was at a party at the Super Bowl and could not speak to a reporter until Tuesday.