Sappi Limited has concluded an agreement with AURELIUS Investment Lux One S.à.r.l. regarding the divesture of its Maastricht Mill in the Netherlands, its Stockstadt Mill in Germany and its Kirkniemi Mill in Finland.
Steve Binnie, CEO of Sappi Limited commented: “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.”
Sappi received binding offers from several parties. Following due process, the board of Sappi agreed to proceed with the offer from AURELIUS, a pan-European multi-asset manager group. The sale will be subject to various standard suspensive conditions. The sale is expected to close in the first calendar quarter of 2023 once all these conditions have been fulfilled. A transitional services agreement will also be entered into to ensure a smooth transition of the businesses between the parties.
The enterprise value of the sale amounts to approximately Euro 272 million. The consideration consists of cash proceeds and retained receivables (Euro 212 million) as well as retained liabilities (Euro 60 million). The proceeds will be used to reduce debt further and continue to increase Sappi’s focus on the identified growth segments.
The mills included in the sale:
Sappi Maastricht Mill produces 260,000 ton per annum (tpa) of coated woodfree paper and paperboard mainly sold to printers and packaging converters globally.
Sappi Stockstadt Mill is an integrated pulp and paper mill located in Germany, producing 145,000 tpa of pulp which is used to produce 220,000 tpa of coated and uncoated woodfree paper mainly sold into the European print market.
Sappi Kirkniemi Mill is an integrated pulp and paper mill located in Finland, producing 300,000 tpa of bleached mechanical pulp which is used to produce approximately 750,000 tpa of a variety of coated mechanical paper grades used in the print publication industry globally.
