Fortress Paper to Sell Hydropower Assets at Landqart Mill

Fortress Paper Ltd., Vancouver, B.C., Canada, this week reported that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Landqart AG (with a mill in Landqart, Switzerland), has agreed to sell its hydropower assets and associated real estate to a Swiss utility company. Landqart concurrently entered into a long-term power purchase agreement at competitive rates. The sale of the hydropower assets is subject to customary closing conditions and is anticipated to complete imminently.

"The sale of our non-core hydropower assets at Landqart is designed to optimize our current asset base and redirect proceeds to our core businesses, and is consistent with our strategy of unlocking value for our shareholders," said Chadwick Wasilenkoff, chairman, CEO, and president of Fortress Paper.

Fortress operates in three business segments: dissolving pulp, specialty papers, and security paper products. The company operates its dissolving pulp business at the Fortress Specialty Cellulose Mill in Canada, which is also in the process of expanding into the renewable energy generation sector with the construction of a cogeneration facility. Fortress' specialty papers business is at the Dresden Mill in Germany, which produces specialty non-woven wallpaper base products, and its security paper products business is at the Landqart mill that produces banknote, passport, visa, and other brand protection and security papers, and at its Fortress Optical Facility in Canada that manufacturers optically variable thin film material.

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