US investment company Strategic Value Partners (SVP) has extended the acceptance period for its offer made to acquire Swedish paper manufacturer Nordic Paper. The US firm is giving shareholders until 8 January to decide whether they wish to accept the takeover offer. According to SVP, the deadline, which had already been postponed from 11 to 20 December, will not be extended again.
Part of the Nordic Paper shareholders have already accepted the offer. SVP reports that it has been accepted by shareholders to such extent that it will become the owner of approximately 82.84 per cent of the total number of shares and votes in Nordic Paper.
SVP plans to acquire Nordic Paper through its newly formed subsidiary Coniferous Bidco. The company submitted a takeover bid for the Swedish company on 11 October, offering SEK50 in cash per share, which puts the total value of the offer at around SEK3.35bn. The main shareholder Shanying International Holding recommended to accept this offer. However, Nordic Paper was of the opinion that the price did not correspond to the value of the company and therefore recommended rejecting it. SVP for its part is not willing to increase the price and declared the offer unconditional back in December.
Nordic Paper is a producer of kraft and greaseproof papers with combined annual capacities of around 300,000 tpy. The company operates the Bäckhammar, Åmotfors and Säffle mills in Sweden, the Greåker mill in Norway and a mill in Québec, Canada.
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