WAUSAU PAPER CORP.

of guidance on this topic in ASU No. 2015-03. The SEC staff has announced that it would “not object to an entity deferring and presenting debt issuance costs as an asset and subsequently amortizing the deferred debt issuance costs ratably over the term of the line-of-credit arrangement.” We are currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

On July 22, 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-11, “Simplifying the Measurement of Inventory.” The guidance requires entities to measure most inventory “at the lower of cost and net realizable value,” thereby simplifying the current guidance under which an entity must measure inventory at the lower of cost or market (market in this context is defined as one of three different measures, one of which is net realizable value). The ASU does not apply to inventories that are measured by using either the last-in, first-out method or the retail inventory method. the ASU is effective prospectively for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods therein. We do not expect the adoption of this guidance will have a material impact on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

On October 12, 2015, we entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger with SCA Americas Inc. (SCA). SCA will acquire us for $10.25 per share or $513 million, subject to Wausau Paper Corp. shareholder approval, and required regulatory clearances. While we anticipate finalization of the transaction in the first quarter of 2016, there can be no certainty or assurance about the timing, specific elements, or completion of a transaction.

Gross profit margin increased 4 percentage points in the third quarter of 2015 compared to the same quarter a year ago as a result of an improvement in the volume and mix of cases shipped, as well as improvement in all aspects of operations-including manufacturing, converting, warehousing and logistics. The current quarter included outage costs at our Harrodsburg, Kentucky facility of $0.6 million while the prior year third quarter included a major planned maintenance outage at our Middletown, Ohio facility with charges of $1.7 million.

Selling and administrative expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, were $32.3 million compared to $41.0 million in the same period of 2014. During the nine months ended September 30, 2015, we incurred pre-tax expenses of $1.1 million related to a strategic alternatives review and we realized a credit $7.4 million associated with a rate case adjustment and capacity release on a contract obligation for a former manufacturing facility. See Note 3, “Discontinued Operations and Other” to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for additional discussion of this contract. Selling and administrative expenses for, the nine months ended September 30, 2014, include a pre-tax charge of $3.1 million, related to severance costs and the acceleration of vesting under change in control provisions contained within the Company’s equity and incentive compensation plans due to the leadership transition changes announced during the second quarter. In addition, we incurred pre-tax expenses of $1.2 million in a proxy-related settlement charge and $2.1 million in other recurring proxy-related charges.

Excluding items identified above, selling and administrative expenses for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, increased by approximately $1.0 million and $4.3 million, respectively, over the corresponding previous periods primarily due to modifications to our management incentive programs, depreciation, insurance, legal expenses, and salaries and fringes over the corresponding previous period.

assumptions.  All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements may be identified by, among other things, beliefs or expectations that certain events may occur or are anticipated and projections or statements of expectations with respect to various aspects of our business, our plans or intentions, our stock performance, the industry within which we operate, the markets in which we compete, the economy, and any other expressions of similar import or covering other matters relating to our business and operations.  Words such as anticipate, intend, expect, seek, may, and similar references to future periods may indicate that a forward-looking statement is being made. Risks, uncertainties, and assumptions relating to our forward-looking statements include the level of competition for our products, downturns in our target markets, changes in the away-from-home towel and tissue industry, changes in the price or availability of raw materials and energy, the failure to develop new products that meet customer needs, adverse changes in our relationships with large customers and labor unions, the failure to recruit and retain key personnel, costs of compliance with environmental regulations, our ability to fund our operations, fluctuations in the Canadian exchange rate, unforeseen operating problems, changes in strategic plans or our ability to execute such plans, maintenance of adequate internal controls, changes in financial accounting standards, changes in tax laws, increasing costs of certain employee and retiree benefits, unforeseen liabilities arising from current or prospective claims, unforeseen claims concerning intellectual property rights, unexpected disruptions in the availability of our computer systems, attempts by shareholders to effect changes at or acquire control over the Company, and the effect of certain organizational anti-takeover provisions.