HELSINKI, April 25 (Reuters) - Finland's Stora Enso has entered into an agreement to sell its two sawmills and their forest operations in Russia to local management, causing it to record 130 million euros in losses, the group said on Monday.

Contacted by Reuters, the company said their local managers who had been overseeing the sawmills in Novgorod and Karelia for years would buy the units and pay for them, but declined to give their names or reveal the financial value of the transactions.

The forestry group recorded an impairment loss of 70 million euros ($75 million) for the sawmill sites in the first quarter and said an additional loss for the transaction would be around 60 million euros, to be recorded at the closing date, expected in the second quarter.

"Stora Enso's assessment is that due to the uncertainties in the Russian market, local ownership and operation can provide a more sustainable long-term solution for these business operations and the employees working there," the Finnish forestry group said in a statement.

The news sent its shares down more than 5% by market close on Monday.

Stora Enso spokeswoman Satu Harkonen said the company had looked into other options as well for the units but had not discussed the transaction with Russian authorities.

She declined to comment on the terms and conditions of the divestment and said the new owners would decide if the sawmills will continue to operate.

Stora Enso's Russian forest harvesting rights, also included in the divestments, cover around 370,000 hectares and have been the company's second-largest forest asset by country.

Stora Enso announced on March 2 that it would stop all production and sales in Russia until further notice due to Russia's war in Ukraine, and added the group was seeking a "sustainable solution" for its three packaging plants in Russia.

The sawmill sites employ approximately 330 people and have a total annual capacity of 350,000 m3 of sawn timber. Stora Enso's Russian forest operations employs approximately 170 people and manages long-term harvesting rights in Russia, the group said.

($1 = 0.9282 euros) (Reporting by Anne Kauranen; Editing by Edmund Blair, Louise Heavens, Catherine Evans and Bernard Orr)