Sappi's Agreement to Sell European Graphic Paper Mills to Aurelius Group Lapses

"Regretfully, and despite extensive efforts by Sappi to close the transaction the parties could not agree on fulfilling the suspensive conditions. Therefore, the transaction has lapsed." – Steve Binnie, CEO, Sappi Limited.

April 17, 2023 - Sappi Limited on April 14 announced that the intended sale to Aurelius Group of its Maastricht Mill in the Netherlands, its Stockstadt Mill in Germany and its Kirkniemi Mill in Finland (the "Transaction") has not materialized within the agreed timeframe of the contractual agreement and therefore the agreement has lapsed.

Sappi received binding offers from several parties for these three mills. Following due process, the board of Sappi agreed to accept the offer from Aurelius Group, a pan-European multi-asset manager group. The transaction was subject to various standard suspensive conditions.

Steve Binnie, CEO of Sappi Limited commented, "Regretfully, and despite extensive efforts by Sappi to close the transaction the parties could not agree on fulfilling the suspensive conditions. Therefore, the transaction has lapsed. Sappi's strategic focus remains unchanged. This includes reducing exposure to the graphic paper segment while expanding Sappi's presence in segments including packaging and speciality papers, pulp and biomaterials."

Marco Eikelenboom, CEO of Sappi Europe stated, "Sappi Europe will continue to manage the three mills as part of our overall portfolio, ensuring that they continue delivering value to the region and to the customers they supply."

The mills included:

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.

Sappi is a leading global provider of sustainable woodfibre products and solutions, in the fields of dissolving pulp, printing papers, packaging and speciality papers, casting and release papers, biomaterials and bio-energy.

SOURCE: Sappi