Billerud Finland Oy’s acquisition of UPM’s packaging paper operations at two sites in Finland has received approval from the requisite regulatory authorities.
The €130m transaction involves Billerud Finland Oy – a wholly owned subsidiary of Billerud AB – taking over one paper machine at Pietarsaari and one at Tervasaari, both in Finland. In 2011, sales amounted to around €220 million.
Manufactured products involved include various packaging papers (sack/kraft paper) with extensive areas of use in the food, retail, construction and other industries.
“The acquisition strengthens our offering in packaging paper and provides us with a strong platform for the further development of smarter packaging solutions,” says Per Lindberg, president and CEO of Billerud.
“Also, the acquisition sharply reduces our pulp exposure as we will purchase an annual pulp volume corresponding to around 85% of Billerud’s present pulp sales volume. We also reduce our currency exposure.”
Completion of the acquisition is expected to take place during the second quarter of 2012.
