Parent Company and U.S. Operating Subsidiaries File Voluntary Chapter 11 Petitions in U.S. To Consummate Sale

All Global Manufacturing and Distribution Facilities Operating As Usual

Obtains Commitment For Up To $37 Million in DIP Financing To Fund Operations

RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Chesapeake Corporation (Other OTC: CSKE) today announced that it has reached an agreement to sell all of its operating businesses to a group of investors including affiliates of Irving Place Capital Management, L.P. and Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., who intend to continue operating these businesses as a going concern. To consummate this sale, Chesapeake Corporation and its U.S. operating subsidiaries filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions today in the Eastern District of Virginia in Richmond.

All of the Company's operations - including all of its manufacturing and distribution facilities in the U.S. and around the world - are open and operating on normal schedules, fulfilling customer orders as usual and providing uninterrupted customer service. The Company's non-U.S. subsidiaries were not included in the Chapter 11 filing and there are no plans to place them in administration.

'After exploring a range of possible alternatives to improve our balance sheet and maintain the liquidity we need to operate our businesses in an extremely difficult economic environment, the management and Board of Directors of Chesapeake concluded that a court-supervised sale of our business operations is in the best interest of the Company and its stakeholders,' said Andrew J. Kohut, President and Chief Executive Officer of Chesapeake Corporation. 'In particular, the sale transaction and Chapter 11 process will help us meet several critical objectives, including allowing ongoing operation of all of our businesses without interruption to supplier and customer relationships, providing a permanent solution to the high leverage at the parent company level and constrained liquidity, providing the most rapid path to a new organization with a much healthier balance sheet, and providing a bright future for our operating companies and their employees, customers and suppliers.'

Chesapeake has filed a variety of first day motions with the Court that will allow it to continue to conduct business as usual while it completes the sale of the business operations to the investor group.