Ownership Submission
FORM 4
Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
ZAKEN JORDAN C
  2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
Verso Paper Corp. [VRS]
5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
__X__ Director _____ 10% Owner
_____ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
C/O APOLLO MANAGEMENT IV, L.P., 9 WEST 57TH STREET
3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
05/20/2008
(Street)

NEW YORK, NY 10019
4. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 3)
2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 3. Transaction Code
(Instr. 8)
4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D)
(Instr. 3, 4 and 5)
5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s)
(Instr. 3 and 4)
6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 4)
7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 4)
Code V Amount (A) or (D) Price

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Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
(e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 3)
2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 4. Transaction Code
(Instr. 8)
5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D)
(Instr. 3, 4, and 5)
6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)
7. Title and Amount of Underlying Securities
(Instr. 3 and 4)
8. Price of Derivative Security
(Instr. 5)
9. Number of Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s)
(Instr. 4)
10. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 4)
11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 4)
Code V (A) (D) Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares
Units (1) (2) $ 0 05/20/2008   J(3)   23,179   05/20/2008   (4) Common Stock 23,179 $ 0 23,179 D  

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
 Director  10% Owner  Officer  Other
ZAKEN JORDAN C
C/O APOLLO MANAGEMENT IV, L.P.
9 WEST 57TH STREET
NEW YORK, NY 10019
  X      

Signatures

 /s/ Peter H. Kesser, attorney-in-fact   05/22/2008
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) The reporting person owns units representing a limited partner interest in Verso Paper Management LP. Mr. Zaken is associated with Apollo Management, L.P. ("Management") and its affiliated investment managers, including Verso Paper Investments LP ("VP Investments"), the general partner of Verso Paper Management LP ("VP Management"), which is the record owner of 35,234,147 shares of common stock of Verso Paper Corp (the "Issuer"). Verso Paper Investments Management LLC ("Investments Management LLC") is the general partner of VP Investments. CMP Apollo LLC is the sole and managing member of Investments Management LLC, Apollo Management VI, L.P. ("Management VI") is the sole and managing member of CMP Apollo LLC, AIF VI Management, LLC ( "AIF VI LLC") is the general partner of Management VI, Management is the sole member and manager of AIF VI LLC, and Apollo Management GP, LLC ("Apollo Management GP") is the general partner of Apollo Management. (Continue to footnote 2)
(2) This report does not include any securities of the Issuer that may be deemed beneficially owned by VP Management, VP Investments, Investments Management LLC, CMP Apollo LLC, Management VI, AIF VI LLC, Management, or Apollo Management GP, and Mr. Zaken disclaims beneficial ownership of all such securities. This report shall not be deemed an admission that Mr. Zaken is the beneficial owner of, or has any pecuniary interest in, such securities for purposes of Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or for any other purpose.
(3) On May 20, 2008, Verso Paper Corp. completed its initial public offering of common stock. On that date, and in connection with the closing of the offering, the limited partnership agreement of Verso Paper Management LP, which before the offering had been the sole stockholder of Verso Paper Corp., was amended to, among other things, provide that each unit in Verso Paper Management LP may be exchanged, subject to certain restrictions, for one share of common stock of Verso Paper Corp. owned by Verso Paper Management LP.
(4) The right to exchange units in Verso Paper Management LP for common stock of Verso Paper Corp. has no expiration date.

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