Metsä Group press release 23 December 2019

Metsä Tissue, part of Metsä Group, has agreed to divest its napkin business to keeeper Group, which is part of Mutares Group. The transaction includes the real estate, machinery and equipment and warehouses at the Stotzheim mill in Germany as well as the Fasana and Mondial brands. As a result of the transaction, the mill's personnel is planned to be transferred to the new owner as existing employees.

"The napkin business has not reached profitability targets lately and napkins are not part of our core offering anymore. Thus we have explored all the alternatives for the business to find the best solution for the Stotzheim mill and its personnel," says Esa Kaikkonen, CEO of Metsä Tissue. "When completed, the divestment will support Metsä Tissue's strategy and enables us to focus on our core business, producing high-quality tissue and greaseproof papers close to our customers."

Due to the transaction an approximately EUR 20 million negative operating result impact will be recorded as item affecting comparability mainly in the fourth quarter of 2019. Closing of the transaction is subject to the approval from the German competition authorities. The transaction is planned to be completed in the first quarter of 2020.

The keeeper Group is one of the largest European suppliers of innovative and high-quality plastic household products. The Group serves customers in the DIY, food retailing, wholesale and furniture retail sectors in around 35 countries worldwide. Mutares SE & Co. KGaA is a German stock exchange listed holding company that focuses on acquiring medium-sized companies with the goal of increasing their value with a focus on sustainable growth. Annual sales of Mutares Group was approximately EUR 865 million in 2018.

For further information, please contact:
Timo Riikonen, SVP, Business Development, Metsä Tissue, tel. +358 40 714 9757

Metsä Group
www.metsagroup.com

Metsä Group is a forerunner in sustainable bioeconomy utilising renewable wood from sustainably managed northern forests. Metsä Group focuses on wood supply and forest services, wood products, pulp, fresh fibre paperboards and tissue and greaseproof papers.

In 2018, Metsä Group's sales totalled EUR 5.7 billion, and it employs approximately 9,300 people. Metsäliitto Cooperative is the parent company of Metsä Group and is owned by approximately 103,000 Finnish forest owners.

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Metsä Tissue
www.metsatissue.com

With its high-quality tissue and greaseproof papers, Metsä Tissue makes life more comfortable for consumers, customers and end-users every day. Metsä Tissue is a leading tissue paper products supplier to households and professionals in Europe and the world's leading supplier of greaseproof papers. Our main brands are Lambi, Serla, Mola, Tento, Katrin and SAGA. With production units in five countries, we employ a total of about 2,800 people. Our sales in 2018 were EUR 1 billion. Metsä Tissue is part of Metsä Group. 

Follow Metsä Tissue: Twitter  (https://twitter.com/MetsaTissue) LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/metsa-tissue/)

https://news.cision.com/metsaliitto-osuuskunta/r/metsa-tissue-has-agreed-to-divest-its-napkin-business-to-mutares-group,c2997573

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