Sappi has accepted the offer to sell its Maastricht Mill in the Netherlands, its Stockstadt Mill in Germany and its Kirkniemi Mill in Finland to Aurelius
Sappi agrees to sell three European graphic paper mills for €272m. (Credit: Alicja from Pixabay)
Paper mill firm Sappi has completed an agreement with Aurelius Investment to divest its three European graphic paper mills for €272m.
Sappi has accepted the offer to sell its Maastricht Mill in the Netherlands, its Stockstadt Mill in Germany and its Kirkniemi Mill in Finland.
According to the paper firm, several parties submitted binding proposals to Sappi for the acquisition.
The board of Sappi decided to proceed with the offer from the pan-European multi-asset manager firm AURELIUS after following the proper procedures.
There will be several customary suspensive terms attached to the selling. Once all of these requirements are met, the transaction is anticipated to conclude in the first quarter of 2023, Sappi said.
Sappi CEO Steve Binnie said: “We are very happy to have reached an agreement with AURELIUS to take ownership of the three mills. Although they no longer fit in Sappi’s portfolio, they are strong assets with good people.”
The paper firm said the deal has an estimated enterprise value of €272m and cash proceeds, retained receivables at €212m, and retained liabilities worth €60m make up the consideration.
The amount will be utilised to further decrease debt and boost Sappi’s concentration on the sectors with indicated development potential.
Binnie added: “The decision to sell these mills follows a detailed and thorough strategic review by Sappi in line with our group Thrive25 strategic focus.
“This includes reducing exposure to the graphic paper segment while expanding Sappi’s presence in segments including packaging and speciality papers, pulp and biomaterials.
“Recent investments across our South African, American and European operating businesses demonstrate this priority.”
Maastricht Mill produces 260,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of coated woodfree paper and paperboard, and the Stockstadt Mill produces 145,000tpa of pulp which is used to produce 220,000tpa of coated and uncoated woodfree paper.
Kirkniemi Mill produces 300,000tpa of bleached mechanical pulp which is used to produce 750 000tpa of a variety of coated mechanical paper grades.