Stora Enso to divest its Uetersen Mill

Helsinki, Finland, 2014-12-13 12:00 CET (TRENDINGLOBALNEWS) -- STORA ENSO OYJ STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 13 December 2014 at 13.00 EET

Stora Enso has signed an agreement to divest its Uetersen specialty and coated fine paper mill in Germany to a company mainly owned by the private equity fund Perusa Partners Fund 2. The cash consideration for the divestment of the shares is approximately EUR 7 million subject to customary closing day adjustments. The loss on disposal amounts to approximately EUR 30 million and will be recorded as a non-recurring item in Stora Enso’s fourth quarter 2014 results. The transaction is in line with Stora Enso’s strategic transformation to a customer focused renewable materials company. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2015 and is subject to regulatory approvals.

The transaction will enhance Stora Enso’s operational EBIT and cash flow from the second quarter of 2015. Based on 2013 annual figures, the divestment is expected to reduce Stora Enso’s annual sales by EUR 155 million. It will also reduce Stora Enso’s annual paper production capacity by around 240 000 tonnes. Uetersen Mill employs approximately 400 people.

Stora Enso will continue to produce specialty papers at Imatra Mill and coated fine paper at Oulu Mill in Finland.

Stora Enso’s previous attempt to divest the mill to Brigl & Bergmeister, an Austrian specialty paper producer, was unsuccessful due to the German Federal Cartel Office’s (FCO) indicated intentions to prohibit the proposed transaction.

About Perusa
The private equity fund Perusa Partners Fund 2, advised by Munich based Perusa GmbH, targets at companies in special situations. Perusa GmbH was set up in 2007. The team invests in medium-sized companies or business units of larger corporations, mostly in the German speaking region and the Nordics, with the goal of actively accompanying them through a phase of transition towards their full entrepreneurial potential. www.perusa.de

For further information, please contact:
Ulrika Lilja, EVP Global Communications, tel. +46 72 221 9228
Ulla Paajanen-Sainio, SVP Investor Relations, tel. +358 40 763 8767

www.storaenso.com
www.storaenso.com/investors

Stora Enso is the global rethinker of the paper, biomaterials, wood products and packaging industry. We always rethink the old and expand to the new to offer our customers innovative solutions based on renewable materials. Stora Enso employs some 29 000 people worldwide, and our sales in 2013 amounted to EUR 10.6 billion. Stora Enso shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki (STEAV, STERV) and Stockholm (STE A, STE R). In addition, the shares are traded in the USA as ADRs (SEOAY) in the International OTCQX over-the-counter market.

STORA ENSO OYJ

source: globenewswire.com