Georgia-Pacific Corp., Atlanta, announced that it is delaying the separation of its consumer products and packaging business due to the current conditions in the financial markets, the continued weak business environment in its building products segment and the pending divestiture of its Unisource paper distribution company.

“We remain convinced that the separation of Georgia-Pacific into two focused companies is the right strategy for our shareholders and one that will add value,” said A.D. “Pete” Correll, Georgia Pacific’s chairman and CEO. “Although we are committed to our planned separation, we have reluctantly concluded that now is not the right time to execute the transactions. However, implementation of the organizational structure and the internal processes necessary for a separation of the two businesses will continue. We will closely monitor business and market conditions in the coming months and will proceed when conditions are favorable for completing the separation.”