SCA Divests 50% Shareholding in Aylesford Newsprint

SCA, Stockholm, Sweden, has divested its 50% shareholding in the U.K.-based newsprint facility Aylesford Newsprint to the private equity company Martland Holdings. Martland Holdings has now acquired all of Aylesford Newsprint, which was equally owned by SCA and Mondi. The company has 280 employees and its annual capacity is approximately 400,000 metric tons of recovered fiber-based newsprint. Total sales for 2011 were approximately SEK 1.6 billion (GBP 150 million). The operations have been loss-making for the past several years.

The sale of shares was carried out on a debt-free basis for a symbolic amount. The transaction involved a book loss of SEK 850 million (GBP 80 million) and a negative cash flow effect of SEK 140 million (GBP 13 million) for SCA. The loss will be booked in the third quarter of 2012.

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