M-real Divests Reflex Mill's Premium Paper Business to Hahnemühle FineArt
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M-real Corp., Finland, part of Metsäliitto Group, has agreed to divest its Reflex mill's Premium Paper business to Walzmühle AG, Germany, which is owned by specialty paper producer Hahnemühle FineArt GmbH, the Hahnemühle management, and private shareholders of Hahnemühle. The divestment includes the complete Premium Paper business and related assets as well as approximately 100 of M-real's employees.
The mill's Premium Paper products are used in high-quality graphical end-uses, such as letterhead, brochures, books, calendars, and envelopes.
The divestment, expected to be closed during the first quarter, would decrease M-real's annual sales by approximately EUR 20 million and would not have a material impact on M-real's operative result. The divestment is not expected to have a material non-recurring result or cash flow impact taking into account the bookings made in the fourth quarter of 2011.
"We are very satisfied that the well-recognized specialty paper producer Hahnemühle takes over the Reflex Premium Paper business. Our actions to build a business park at Reflex by finding other producers to the site have been very successful. Thanks to our business park concept, more than half of the original 400-plus jobs can be saved at the mill. Key issues in the success have been excellent cooperation with the union, works council, local authorities, and Metsä Tissue Corp., which is already our partner at the site. Based on this experience, we will have a good opportunity to also implement the successful business park concept at Gohrsmühle mill," says M-real's CEO Mikko Helander.
After divestment of the Premium Paper business, M-real has no operations left at the Reflex mill. Discontinuation of the carbonless paper converting was agreed to in late 2011. In October 2010, M-real sold No. 5 paper machine and some related assets at the Reflex site to Metsä Tissue.
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