133 Peachtree Street Northeast Atlanta, Georgia 30303 (404) 652-4000 News from Georgia-Pacific Release No. C-1549 Contact: Ken Haldin (404) 652-6098 Greg Guest (404) 652-4739 October 4, 1999 GEORGIA-PACIFIC, CHESAPEAKE FINALIZE JOINT VENTURE ATLANTA, Ga. and RICHMOND, Va. - Georgia-Pacific Corp. (NYSE: GP) and Chesapeake Corporation (NYSE: CSK) today completed a previously announced agreement to create Georgia- Pacific Tissue, a joint venture in which the two companies have combined their away-from-home tissue businesses. "This agreement establishes Georgia-Pacific Tissue as a significant, competitive player in the commercial tissue business in North America," said A.D. "Pete" Correll, chairman and chief executive officer of Georgia-Pacific. Thomas H. Johnson, president and chief executive officer of Chesapeake, said, "This agreement allows our joint tissue operations to be more competitive. It also provides Chesapeake Corporation with the financial flexibility to pursue meaningful growth opportunities as we continue to focus on strengthening our overall capabilities in specialty packaging and merchandising services." Georgia-Pacific Group, the pulp, paper and building products business of Georgia-Pacific Corp., contributed assets from its commercial tissue business to the joint venture. Georgia-Pacific Group controls Georgia-Pacific Tissue with a 95 percent equity interest. Chesapeake contributed the assets of its Wisconsin Tissue business to the joint venture, for which it received a 5 percent interest in Georgia-Pacific Tissue and an initial cash distribution of approximately $755 million. -more- -2- William A. Raaths, previously president of Wisconsin Tissue, has assumed the position of president of Georgia-Pacific Tissue and is a vice president of Georgia-Pacific Corp. He reports to Michael C. Burandt, senior vice president - packaged products, Georgia-Pacific Group. Georgia-Pacific Tissue operates 13 manufacturing facilities with an annual production capacity of approximately 530,000 tons of commercial tissue products. Following formation of Georgia- Pacific Tissue, Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific manufactures more than 1.1 million tons of tissue products annually for the commercial and consumer markets, with 25 paper machines and 268 converting lines. Commercial tissue products serve "away-from-home"markets such as hospitals, restaurants, businesses, institutions and janitorial supply firms. Georgia-Pacific assets included in the joint venture include tissue converting facilities at Brattleboro, Vt., and LaGrange, Ga.; a tissue mill at Gary, Ind.; and tissue converting operations at Crossett, Ark., and Palatka, Fla. Georgia-Pacific Tissue also includes former Wisconsin Tissue production facilities at Bellemont and Flagstaff, Ariz.; Alsip, Ill.; Greenwich, N.Y.; Menasha and Neenah, Wis.; and Toluca, Mexico. Georgia-Pacific (www.gp.com) is the leading manufacturer and distributor of building products in the United States and one of the world's leading manufacturers and distributors of pulp, paper and related chemicals for the forest products industry. It consists of two distinct operating groups: Georgia-Pacific Group and The Timber Company (NYSE: TGP), which manages 5 million acres of timberland in North America. The company employs more than 50,000 people at approximately 500 locations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Chesapeake Corporation (www.cskcorp.com) is a specialty packaging and merchandising services company with over 40 locations in North America and Europe. -0-