Metsä Tissue acquire s Tento a.s. and becomes market leader in the
Central-Eastern European market
Feb 1, 2006 Metsä Tissue, part of the Metsäliitto Group,
has concluded an agreement to acquire the full ownership of Tento
a.s., a leading tissue paper company in Slovakia. The acquisition
requires the approval of the competition authorities.
"As
manufacturing tissue paper products is one of Metsäliitto Group’s
core businesses, we are happy that this agreement has been
successfully completed,” says Kari Jordan, Metsäliitto Group
President and CEO, and Chairman of Metsä Tissue Board of Directors.
Mikko Helander, President and CEO of Metsä Tissue, confirms: “The
acquisition will strengthen the position of Metsä Tissue in Europe.
Tento’s local market knowledge and effective manufacturing, combined
with our Polish operations, gives Metsä Tissue a strong local
presence in the Central-Eastern European region. Together we can
serve our customers even better.”
“I am very pleased with Tento’s progress during the last five
years where we have been able to improve our efficiency and
quality,” says Jozef Antošík, President and CEO of Tento. “As part
of Metsä Tissue, Tento will now have more resources to continue
developing in the fast growing Central-Eastern European markets.
Personally, I am very happy to offer my 25 years experience to
support Metsä Tissue’s growth in the fast changing European tissue
paper market.”
Once the acquisition has been approved, Antošíkwill own
15% of Metsä Tissue’s shares, thus becoming the second biggest owner
after Metsäliitto. He will also assume a position as a member of
Metsä Tissue Board of Directors.
There are some 150 million consumers in the Central-Eastern
European markets using nearly 700,000 tonnes of tissue paper per
year. The annual consumption per capita is between 3-7 kg and due to
the increase in the standard of living is growing by 5-10% - much
faster than in Western Europe.
Tento is one of the leading tissue paper companies in
Central-Eastern Europe. Its key products are toilet paper, household
towels and handkerchiefs. The Tento brand has a leading position in
the Slovakian and Czech tissue paper markets. The company’s head
office and mill are located in Žilina, northern Slovakia. Tento’s
turnover is EUR 90 million and it employs 600 people.
Further information:
Mikko Helander and Jozef Antošík, Tel: +421 4151 21400
Available for telephone interviews from 11.00 CET.
Metso to acquire Aker Kvaerner’s Pulping and Power business
Feb 08, 2006, Metso and Aker Kvaerner have signed a Letter of Intent whereby Metso intends to
acquire all parts of Aker Kvaerner’s Pulping and Power business. The acquisition
is subject to, among other things, completion of the due diligence process
conducted by Metso, and signing of the final sale and purchase agreement. The
parties aim to sign the final agreement by mid April 2006. The final closing
will require relevant regulatory approvals. The agreed cash and interest-bearing
debt free enterprise value is EUR 335 million, which is subject to closing
adjustments.
The acquisition will enable Metso Paper to complement its Fiber Business Line's
product scope with Aker Kvaerner’s technology. Following the successful
completion of the transaction, Metso Paper will be able to deliver all core
processes for modern pulp mills, including chemical pulping lines, chemicals
recovery and power generation for pulp and paper production based on modern
state-of-the-art technology. As a result, Metso Paper will enhance its service
capability globally with a wide and advanced product offering and life cycle
services.
“The deal fits well with our strategy of profitable growth. The demand for
complete chemical pulp mill processes has developed favorably in recent years,
especially in South America and Asia, and we expect the positive development to
continue. In light of this, we see the acquisition of Aker Kvaerner Pulping and
Power business as an excellent opportunity to complement both our technology
base and our customer service in chemicals recovery and hardwood pulping
processes,” notes Risto Hautamäki, President of Metso Paper. “Nowadays the
customers increasingly require complete pulping solutions from one supplier. The
combination of Metso Paper and Aker Kvaerner technologies would meet their
demands on this front. There is also exciting potential for synergies in
research and development, as well as in, for example, logistics and purchasing.”
Aker Kvaerner’s Pulping and Power business has approximately 2 000 employees,
with main operations in Sweden, Finland, USA, Canada, Japan and Brazil. In 2005,
it had net sales of EUR 565 million and recorded EUR 35 million operating profit
after corporate allocations. The order backlog on December 31, 2005 was EUR 600
million.
Metso Paper’s Fiber Business Line serves the pulp and paper industry with
chemical, mechanical and recycled fiber technologies and related services. In
2005, the Fiber Business Line’s net sales were EUR 489 million. It has some 2
000 employees with main locations in Finland and Sweden.
Aker Kvaerner is one of the world’s largest contractors to the oil, gas and
process industries. In 2004, the aggregated revenues were EUR 3.7 billion with
22,000 employees.
Metso is a global engineering and technology corporation with 2005 net sales of
approximately EUR 4.2 billion. Its 22 000 employees in more than 50 countries
serve customers in the pulp and paper industry, rock and minerals processing,
the energy industry and selected other industries. Metso Paper’s net sales in
2005 were EUR 1 702 million.
Metso acquires paper machine manufacturer in China
Feb 13, 2006, Metso Paper has made an agreement to buy the entire share capital of Shanghai-Chenming
Paper Machinery Co. Ltd, a Chinese manufacturer of paper machines. The company
is currently owned by Shandong Chenming and Shanghai Heavy Machinery, and it is
located in the Shanghai area in Jiading. The finalization of the transaction is
subject to approval by the Chinese authorities. The transaction value will be
published after the finalization.
The Shanghai-Chenming Paper Machinery’s foundry and machine shop manufacture
primarily narrow paper and board machines for the Chinese market as well as
dry-end components. The company employs 630 people, and its net sales in 2004
amounted to about EUR 13 million.
“When finalized, the acquisition will enable us to better serve not only our
Chinese customers but also the pulp and paper industry in Asia. The Shanghai
area is also excellent in terms of developing the purchasing function,” notes
Risto Hautamäki, President, Metso Paper.
China’s paper industry is growing strongly. Since the year 2000, about half the
orders for new, big paper manufacturing lines have come from China. Metso Paper
is a leading supplier of paper machinery in China, and its strategic objective
is to strengthen its presence in customer service, servicing, manufacturing, and
sourcing.
The company’s current main owner, Shandong Chenming, is one of the biggest paper
manufacturers in China and a Metso Paper customer. Metso Paper has delivered
several paper machines to Shandong Chenming’s mills in Shouguang and Wuhan. The
most recent order was for the world’s biggest deinking and paper manufacturing
lines, which will start up at the end of 2006.
Metso is a global engineering and technology corporation with 2005 net sales of
approximately EUR 4.2 billion. Its 22,000 employees in more than 50 countries
serve customers in the pulp and paper industry, rock and minerals processing,
the energy industry and selected other industries.
Neenah Paper to Idle
Terrace Bay Pulp Mill, No Fiber
Feb. 21, 2006 - Neenah Paper reportedly is shutting down its remaining pulp
operation in Terrace Bay, Ontario, for an indefinite amount of time due to a
lack of wood fiber for its operations. The news was reported today by Reuters
The fiber shortage is the result of an ongoing strike by the company's
logging division. In late-January, Neenah warned its shareholders that a fiber
shortage was imminent and that the mill would run out of fiber. “In the case of
an extended woodlands strike, it is expected [by Feb 21] the Terrace Bay mill
will not have the fiber necessary for its operation and will shut down,” the
Neenah Paper said in a report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
According to a report in Ontario's Chronicle Journal, the loggers have
been without a mutually-agreeable contract since August and were facing a 6.4
percent pay cut just before Christmas.
Up until last year, Neenah operated two pulp mills at the Terrace Bay site.
In March 2005, the company announced that it would permanently close the older
No. 1 mill, which was built in 1948. ""Terrace Bay and its woodlands have been
identified as one of the highest cost pulp operations in Canada," commented Sean
Erwin, CEO of Neenah Paper. "The smaller scale of the No. 1 mill did not justify
the investment necessary to compete successfully in today's global pulp market."
The idling down of the second mill, which was built in 1978 and has a
capacity of about 345,000 metric tpy of pulp, will affect about 400 workers.