Metsäliitto Cooperative to become the majority shareholder of
Metsä-Botnia
(Thomson Reuters ONE) - Metsäliitto Group Stock Exchange Release 22 October 2009 at 8.30 a.m.Metsäliitto Cooperative to become the majority shareholder ofMetsä-BotniaNegotiations have been finalised between Metsäliitto Cooperative,M-real Corporation and UPM-Kymmene Corporation on the new ownershipstructure of Oy Metsä-Botnia Ab and the divestment of the Uruguayoperations to UPM. The agreement on the arrangement has been signedon 22 October 2009. With the arrangement, Metsäliitto Group willstrengthen its position as a producer of Finnish long-fibre pulp andwill exit the production of short-fibre eucalyptus pulp."The agreement is an important step in the structural change we havebeen consistently implementing, whereby we more strongly focus ouroperations on select core functions. With the arrangement,Metsäliitto Cooperative becomes the majority shareholder ofMetsä-Botnia, which allows us to better develop the wood raw materialand pulp flows from our own perspective. In addition, the transactionalso shows that we believe in the future competitiveness of Finnishforestry industry products," says Kari Jordan, President and CEO,Metsäliitto Group.Metsä-Botnia's Uruguay operations included in the agreement comprisethe majority holdings of the Fray Bentos pulp mill and ForestalOriental, a company specialising in eucalyptus cultivation.Metsä-Botnia and Metsäliitto Cooperative will sell their holdings inthese operations to UPM. The share to be sold by Metsä-Botnia is82.1%, while that of Metsäliitto is 5.5%. The total debt and cashfree enterprise value of the Uruguay operations has been agreed atabout EUR 1.6 billion.In connection with the transaction, Metsä-Botnia will distributefunds to its shareholders and will also repurchase its own sharesfrom UPM. Metsä-Botnia will finance the payment of dividends, therepayment of capital and the repurchase of its own shares with thefunds deriving from its divestment of the Uruguay operations andshares in Pohjolan Voima Oy, and by utilising its existing financingfacilities. In connection with the transaction, MetsäliittoCooperative will also purchase 24.7% of Metsä-Botnia's shares fromUPM and 3.0% from M-real. The arrangement's net cash impact forMetsäliitto Cooperative will be approximately EUR 110 millionnegative. The total debt and cash free enterprise value ofMetsä-Botnia excluding its Uruguay operations and shares in PohjolanVoima Oy has been agreed at about EUR 1.9 billion.After the transaction, Metsäliitto Cooperative will own about 53% ofMetsä-Botnia, M-real about 30% and UPM about 17%.As part of the transaction, Metsä-Botnia will sell 77% of its sharesin Pohjolan Voima Oy to UPM at an agreed price of about EUR 66million.The current cooperation agreements between Metsä-Botnia and itsshareholders will largely remain in force unaltered; furthermoreMetsä-Botnia will continue to operate as the sales channel for marketpulp produced by UPM and M-real.Once the transaction has been completed, Metsä-Botnia will become asubsidiary of Metsäliitto Cooperative, and will be entirelyconsolidated in Metsäliitto Group. Metsäliitto Group's sales willincrease slightly and the arrangement will increase the equity ofboth Metsäliitto Cooperative and Metsäliitto Group by about EUR 150million. The arrangement will not have a material impact on theequity ratio or the net gearing ratio of the parent companyMetsäliitto Cooperative. For Metsäliitto Group, the arrangement willhave a slight positive impact on the equity ratio and the net gearingratio. The equity ratio and liquidity of Metsä-Botnia will continueto be good.Pöyry Forest Industry Consulting Oy has acted as an expert indetermining the relative values of the Metsä-Botnia operations.The transaction is expected to be closed latest during the firstquarter of 2010. The completion of the transaction requires, amongothers, the approval of the competition authorities and thecompletion of the financing arrangements.Further information:Esa Kaikkonen, General Counsel, Metsäliitto Group, tel. +358 10 4654749Anne-Mari Achrén, Group CCO, Metsäliitto Group, tel. +358 10 465 4541Metsäliitto Group's Pulp IndustryMetsä-Botnia is responsible for the pulp industry business ofMetsäliitto Group. Metsä-Botnia is a globally leading manufacturer ofchemical pulp, providing a wide range of products for its customerswho manufacture high-quality paper, packaging and tissue paperproducts. Metsä-Botnia aims to be the world's leading provider offibre, fibre-based properties and added-value services. In 2008,Metsä-Botnia had around 1,800 employees and its annual sales totalledalmost EUR 1.6 billion. Read more at www.botnia.comMetsä-Botnia in FinlandMetsä-Botnia's four Finland-based pulp mills are located in ÿänekoski(capacity 500,000 metric tons), Joutseno (650,000), Kemi (600,000)and Rauma (650,000). At full capacity, the mills annually produce atotal of 2.5 million metric tons of bleached softwood and hardwoodpulp. A significant part of the production is sold to ownercompanies' paper mills, and the rest are sold to the market, mainlyEuropean and Asian customers.Metsä-Botnia Svir TimberBesides the pulp mills, the business includes the Russia-based SvirTimber sawmill which produces annually around 200,000 m³ of softwoodsawn timber to meet the needs of planing mills, house factories, thebuilding and construction industry as well as supply chains.This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Datum: 22.10.2009 - 07:36 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
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