DAYTON, OH -- The Mead Corp. and Westvaco Corp. announced a merger agreement that would create a major global supplier of packaging, coated and specialty papers, consumer and office products, and specialty chemicals.

The new company, to be named MeadWestvaco Corp., would have annual sales of $8 billion, the companies said. Completion of the stock transaction is anticipated in the fourth quarter of this year, pending regulatory approvals.

Westvaco, headquartered in Stamford, CT, is a producer of paperboard, packaging, coated papers and specialty chemicals. It is a supplier of raw materials used in coatings, including tall oil fatty acids and fatty-acid derivatives; epoxy curing agents; and corrosion inhibitors.

Mead, based in Dayton, OH, is a forest products company and a major producer of coated paper, coated paperboard and consumer and office products, and other paper products.