Divestment of BillerudKorsnäs Gävle PM 2 Approved by EU Commission

The EU Commission has approved BillerudKorsnäs' (Solna, Sweden) divestment of paper machine No. 2 (PM 2) at the Gävle production unit to SwedPaper AB. The transaction is conditional on the approval from other relevant competition authorities before closing can take place.

To satisfy conditions set by the EU Commission for approval of the combination between Billerud and Korsnäs, an agreement was signed with SwedPaper concerning divestment of PM 2 at the Gävle production unit. The machine produces kraft and sack paper. Production at PM 2 in 2012 accounted for approximately 2% of BillerudKorsnäs' total combined sales volume. The PM 2 operation employs approximately 60 people, who will be offered employment with SwedPaper. Other operations at the Gävle production unit will not be affected by the sale and will remain in BillerudKorsnäs' ownership.

Completion of the divestment is expected to take place during the third quarter of this year.

TAPPI
http://www.tappi.org/